Standing By
by toothie
Summary: Sasuke's daughter is the only person he has ever shown love, and he's quite content keeping it that way. However, being a single parent is not always easy - especially when you're about to take over a company and need to prepare for it. Naruto just had a bad day and ended up losing his job. How complicated could it get? (Rated M for future chapters)
1. Chapter 1

**01\. Braids and Fruit Drops**

"Daddy!"

Sasuke sighed at his reflection, watching his dark, red-rimmed eyes blink slowly and his black tousled hair sway gently as he tilted his head slightly while listening to the small feet of his four-year-old daughter running down the hallway.

He hadn't gotten a lot of sleep lately; waking up early to cook breakfast for him and his daughter, taking her to summer daycare and then going to work only to go back to the day care to pick her up and then continue working at home after spending time with her and making dinner. This cycle had been going on for three months now, since his childhood friend Sakura, who usually helped him take care of his daughter, had needed to go back to her hometown as her mother had fallen ill.

Sasuke wasn't complaining; he loved his daughter after all. However, his father had high expectations for him and his brother Itachi to take over the company and run it together, and he had started preparing them to do so, which meant a lot of paperwork and late nights making sure everything was perfect for the many meetings they had with other companies. Even if he and his brother had divided the work to make it easier, Sasuke still needed to give his daughter a lot of attention, meaning he didn't have as much time as Itachi did – who was still very much single and childless. His brother had offered to take on more of the workload but Sasuke refused, since he didn't want them to be on uneven ground when they were supposed to run the company together.

It did not help much that his daughter's daycare was on the other side of town either, since that was the only place with high enough security. He was not ever going to put her somewhere where someone could kidnap her or hurt her in order to get to him and his money. He would have let his parents take care of her, but they were never really home either. Which was also one of the reasons he had even less time to sleep since it took an hour there and back, meaning two hours of his time wasted by simply driving a car.

"Daddy!" Emi called again loudly as she burst into his room right as he buttoned the last button on his shirt and crawled up onto his bed with slight difficulty then proceeded to jump on it excitedly, her long chestnut hair sticking out in every direction possible and her dark eyes sparkling with life. "Daddy! I'm gonna play with friends today!"

Sasuke plastered on a smile before turning to her. He wasn't usually one for smiling, especially at people, but his daughter would always be the exception. And he really couldn't help it either since her energy was extremely contagious; more so now since her friends were coming back to the daycare again after the summer break. She had been lonely with the scarce few other children whose parents were also busy working over the summer.

"I know, Emi," he said and approached her still jumping form, taking in her inside-out, polka dotted sundress and slipping white socks with another sigh.

"But you need to be dressed properly first," he added and took hold of the hem of her dress. "Arms up."

She obediently raised her small arms, stilling long enough for Sasuke to pull the dress off, turning it the right way and putting it on her again.

"Wait!" Emi suddenly exclaimed as if she had forgotten something extremely important, jumping off the bed and rushing out.

Sasuke blinked after her and barely managed to take one full step back towards his mirror in order to fix his hair before she barreled through the door again, coming to a stop right in front of him to stare with wide, pleading eyes, her small hand clutching something tightly.

"What is it Emi?" Sasuke asked, sounding slightly amused while he decided that running his fingers through his hair would have to be enough to style it.

"Daddy, I know you are bad but…"

Sasuke raised his eyebrows questioningly and she squirmed a little.

"Can you?" she asked and held out two white ribbons.

He shook his head slightly, bending down to pick her up and put her on the bed.

"I'm not that bad, am I?" he grumbled quietly and his daughter giggled. He smiled slightly as he took her soft hair in his hands, parting it to make two braids.

"Saku-nee-chan is better," Emi stated and he snorted.

Of course Sakura would be better, she was a girl and used to stuff like that. Sasuke had never bothered to learn until his daughter had started asking for different hairstyles other than her natural fall. He had pushed it onto Sakura, who had appointed herself as some sort of nanny for Emi once Sasuke's wife had left and she had seen the helplessness and fright in his eyes at taking care of a – at that time two-year-old – child all on his own. But since she wasn't around anymore either, Emi had started asking him instead

Sasuke frowned as he looked down at the two braids he had worked on.

He wasn't bad at much, but one of the few things he simply couldn't seem to get the hang of was making braids and ponytails, especially since his daughter's soft hair refused to do what he wanted it to. The braids were slightly crooked and he had missed a few strands of hair on the way so they were now sticking out of the braids at different angles.

"I'm sorry, Emi," he sighed in defeat and caressed her cheek in apology. "I really am bad at it."

His daughter picked up the end of one braid, watching it thoughtfully.

"It's okay," she said. "This is daddy's way."

Sasuke smiled softly before letting out a silent groan, as there was a sudden honking outside, which meant Itachi had been waiting for them long enough to grow impatient and they were running late for work. He was supposed to drop Emi off too.

"Come one, princess," he said and hoisted her into his arms. "It's time to get you to kindergarten."

Emi put her arms around his neck to hug him tightly on their brief travel from his bedroom upstairs to the entrance hall where he let her down so they both could put on their shoes. Then he took Emi's hand in one of his and his briefcase together with her small backpack in the other, locking the door with difficulty on their way out, then trying to calm a bouncing Emi as they walked to his brother's waiting car.

It wasn't that Sasuke didn't have a driver's license or his own car, because really, he came from one of the richest families in the country and he had no problem admitting he was spoiled – or rather, _had_ been, until he had to take full responsibility of his child. It was simply that Itachi insisted on picking him and Emi up whenever they both were on their way to the office at the same time in order to see his niece. Which was also why he had his own child seat in the car so they wouldn't have to move it from Sasuke's every time.

"So, how's our little sunshine today?" his brother asked as Sasuke buckled his daughter in.

She gave him a radiant smile.

"Happy!"

"Really?" Itachi chuckled, doing his best to look intrigued. Sasuke rolled his eyes at him and closed the backseat door to take his place in the passenger seat. "Why is that, princess?"

"I'm gonna see Yuki and Kousuke again and we're gonna play! And my teacher has a baby!" she babbled as he pulled out into the traffic.

"A baby?" Itachi sounded very surprised although Sasuke had already told him about the pregnancy of his daughter's teacher. Then again, there wasn't much his brother wouldn't do to indulge Emi.

"Yeah!" she exclaimed happily. "And I want a baby too!"

Sasuke would have like to say he didn't choke on his own heart and he was quite sure he wasn't showing it, since he usually was very careful to show any weakness. But judging by the amused look he received from his brother, he must have made some slight change in his expression.

"Daddy can make another baby!" Emi continued and this time Sasuke really couldn't help the strangled noise that left him.

Itachi smiled, looking perfectly amused while waggling his eyebrows at him.

"Emi," Sasuke chided, deciding to ignore his brother. "You are enough for me at the moment. I don't need another child."

She pouted and crossed her arms, staring out the window at the passing houses in their rich, suburban neighborhood.

"If I find a mother, will you do it then?" she asked.

Sasuke sent a glare at Itachi who had let out a snort in an attempt not to laugh, his shoulders shaking with the effort, before turning around in his seat to face his daughter fully.

"I won't promise anything Emi," he said seriously, not wanting to give her any false hope – or _too_ much hope.

She glanced at him, a thoughtful expression in her eyes, before going back to watch the scenery pass by and Sasuke sighed. Itachi, who had stopped laughing by now, gave him a sympathetic look.

It was no secret that Emi wanted a mother and Sasuke really wanted to find one for her, but his trust for other people – which wasn't a lot to begin with – had lessened when Emi's mother, Sasuke's ex-wife, had left without any sign of regret or remorse. She hadn't even bothered to send their daughter presents or even a little card for her birthday as a sign of ever feeling affection towards her. Of course, Sasuke's ex was a girl whose parents had been acquainted with his parents and asked for their marriage to seal a business deal, so he really shouldn't have expected much from her.

He had expected more of his parents, though, and had not yet quite forgiven them, even if five years had passed since he had married and two since she left.

His ex-wife had been overjoyed at first, because honestly, Sasuke wasn't bad looking. He was well aware he was quite handsome, which had made him distrustful of people from the very beginning – along with the fact that his family was rich. Then she had slowly come to realize that he wasn't as romantic as she wanted him to be, nor was he particularly cuddly or love-dovey with her. Long story short; she had found someone she thought treated her better and they got a divorce.

Sasuke glanced back at Emi, a small smile on his lips.

He was still glad something good had come from the doomed marriage he had entered, making him feel needed and not so alone.

His ex had wanted him to show love and affection, but if there were one person in the world he would ever openly show unrestrained love and care, it was his daughter. He hadn't loved anyone as much as he loved her.

And that was really all he cared about.

* * *

Naruto groaned tiredly as he sank down on the park bench he had thrown himself onto until the back of his head hit the back of the bench. He dug in his jean pocket for the familiar feel and shape of the plastic wrapper of one of the many fruit drops he had stuffed in there before choosing one, pulling it out and popping it into his mouth after having unwrapped it, pear flavor invading his taste buds. Letting out a heavy sigh, he relaxed his shoulders and closed his eyes.

He'd had one hell of a day. His boss had yelled at him for messing up an order of markers they had needed for the small stationary store he worked in since Naruto had been in charge of placing the order and somehow messed it up. Instead of getting the hundred and fifty boxes they needed, they had somehow ended up getting hundred and fifty _thousand_ of them. Naruto didn't remember putting that many zeroes in the order he had placed, but to be fair, he had been studying the entire night and his brain had felt much like scrambled eggs.

Then – after he had angrily yelled at his boss that he quit – he had realized he had almost no money left for the month, meaning he would be living on one cup of ramen a day – maybe two if he was lucky – for a week and a half until his, now last, pay would come. He blamed his friend Kiba for persuading him to come with him and their other two friends, Shikamaru and Choji, on a beach week-end.

And _then,_ to top it all off, an old, smelly lady had accused him of trying to kidnap her dog. Really. What part of just crouching down to pet the fluffy little thing was kidnapping?!

He muttered angrily as he remembered how he'd had to explain to the lady and the crowd gathered that he had just petted the dog since it seemed lonely, but apparently it had fallen on deaf ears. He didn't know why, because he was sure he didn't look like a delinquent with his sunny hair and sky-blue eyes. He was even dressed normally in ripped jeans, a t-shirt and converse so he simply couldn't understand why he was being treated like some criminal.

He slammed his fist down beside him on the bench in frustration and dug out another fruit drop since he had accidentally crushed his first when he clenched his jaw in anger.

There was a surprised little squeak coming from in front of him and he snapped his eyes open to come face to face with a little girl. They blinked at each other blankly, both staring at the other curiously. Then Naruto smiled hesitantly.

"Hi," he said, glancing around nervously in case the girl's parents would appear suddenly and accuse him of being a child molester or something. It wouldn't be all that surprising, what with how his day had gone. "Are you lost?"

The little girl just stared at him with wide dark eyes, her pale cheeks slightly pink and her polka dotted dress a little crumpled from where she seemed to have been clutching it in nervousness. Naruto's smile widened as he took in her chestnut hair, which was pulled into haphazard braids. It was kind of cute.

"I like your hair. Did you do it yourself?" he asked.

The little girl shook her head before beaming happily.

"Daddy did!" She frowned slightly. "He's bad at it…"

"Oh, I see," Naruto chuckled.

Noticing how her eyes curiously flickered down to the candy in his hand, he stupidly held it out for her to take, not at all thinking about how it could be misinterpreted. He would later be very thankful that part of the park had been mostly empty; otherwise he would very likely have been accused of trying to lure a child into coming with him and gone to jail.

The little girl didn't seem to have any reservations about it, though. She bounced over to him enthusiastically and grabbed it, making quick work of the wrapper before popping the caramel into her mouth then letting out a small hum. She glanced up at him and they grinned at each other.

"It's strawberry," the girl mumbled around the candy in satisfaction and Naruto chuckled. She suddenly became very serious. "Mister, can you make braids?"

"Uh…" Naruto blinked at her at the sudden question, his eyes flickering to her hair.

He _did_ know how to braid girls' hair. Since he had grown up in an orphanage and been the oldest amongst the children, it had made him some sort of older brother figure – which meant he'd quickly had to learn how to make his 'little sisters and brothers' happy. The boys had been easy enough; he had just needed to play heroes with them to make them feel better. The girls, however, had always wanted someone to braid their hair or put it up in ponytails or buns and since the patrons in the orphanage neither had time nor cared, he had done it without complaint, getting better every time. He hadn't done anything like that for years though, as he had been out of the system for a while now.

"I guess…" he said hesitantly, knowing where her question was leading and wondering if it would be like riding a bicycle.

The little girl immediately beamed at him again.

"Can you make mine?"

He glanced around once more, feeling very much like he was going to get in trouble any second. But the way the little girl was looking at him pleadingly made her request impossible to refuse.

"Yeah, sure," he smiled and patted the bench beside him.

She quickly clambered up on it and faced him, looking expectant. Naruto gave her another amused smile before he gently pulled the white ribbons from her hair and combed his fingers through the silky strands.

It took him only a few minutes until it was done and he had to admit, they didn't look too shabby. The girl looked at her braids happily, seeming to like them as well.

"Thank you, mister!" she said as she turned around to sit properly, letting her legs dangle back and forth.

"My name is Naruto," he offered kindly.

"My name is Emi," the little girl answered cheerily.

Naruto glanced around again with a small frown, wondering why no one had accused him of being a pedophile yet.

"Aren't your parents worried, Emi? Where are they?" he asked.

Emi's face fell slightly and her legs stilled.

"I lost daddy," she admitted. "He talked on the phone and I wanted to play in the park."

Naruto's frown deepened and he bit his lip contemplatively.

"Do you know your dad's phone number?"

She shook her head, looking guilty.

"Where did you last see him?" he asked and Emi pointed down a pebble path leading further into the park.

"Okay." Naruto stood up and held out his hand for her. She took it without hesitation before jumping down from the bench. "Let's go to the spot you last saw your dad and wait for him there. I'm sure he'll come looking."

They walked the small path between the large stretches of grass and trees to the playground where a few children were still playing, their parents conversing with each other on the sidelines while keeping a watchful eye on them. Emi glanced at the sandbox longingly but stayed with Naruto, her unoccupied hand fiddling with her dress nervously while he scanned the place for someone fitting the description of a distressed parent.

When they had been standing there for half an hour, Naruto started to really worry. He was sure Emi was very loved – the way she acted and looked made him surer – but as he had grown up he had seen many cases of parents abandoning their children, no matter how loved and happy they had looked. Which was why as more minutes ticked by, the more worried and anxious he became.

He almost cried with relief when there finally was a desperate shout of the girl's name coming from behind them.

They both turned around to see a very, _very_ good-looking man hurry over to them and Naruto had to force his jaw not to drop. He was dressed in black jeans and a white, slightly rumpled shirt, his black hair ruffled by either the wind or fingers combing through it repeatedly and he was half running through the park.

At first Naruto thought he had been mistaken and looked behind the man for another person who might have called Emi's name, but when the girl cried '_daddy!_' and let go of his hand to fling herself into the handsome man's open arms he was forced to realize that the little girl's dad actually was the most good-looking guy he had ever seen so far. Which wasn't doing much to help his brain capacity.

He stood rooted to his spot, staring at them while his mouth opened and closed a few times as he watched the reunion of father and daughter. Then the man's dark eyes – the same as his daughter's, Naruto reflected absentmindedly – fixated him with a narrowed, suspicious glare and he winced slightly.

Yep. This day was going to get worse.

"Uh, hi," Naruto greeted uncertainly, trying to smile in a non-creepy way. "I-"

"If you so much as laid a _finger_ on my daughter, I will make sure your life will be very miserable," the man growled.

Naruto gaped at him in utter disbelief, his eyebrows rising high on his forehead while his eyes widened incredulously.

"What?!" he exclaimed. "I was just trying to help! No need to look like I'm a pedophile or something!"

The dark haired man raised an eyebrow distrustfully.

"For all I know, you very well could be," he said coldly before turning his attention to his daughter. "Emi, did this man do anything to you?"

"No, daddy," Emi interrupted Naruto's angry spluttering. "He gave me candy so he's nice."

Naruto felt his heart sink as the father's eyes snapped back to him, flashing dangerously, and he took an involuntary step back.

"Hey man," he held up his hands defensively. "I was gonna eat it myself, but then she looked like she wanted it so… look I have a pocket full of them!"

He pulled out a handful of fruit drops from his pocket to show them and Emi's eyes lit up.

"I'm calling the police," the man stated and reached into his own pocket.

"Okay, you know what?! Fu-" Naruto faltered, throwing a quick glance at Emi, "-dge you! I am nothing but a good samaritan trying to help when I see someone in need! I don't need to deal with you trying to pin me as some sort of pervert in the police-register!"

He turned on his heel to stomp away, shoving the candies back into his pocket, but halted when he heard Emi's cheerful:

"Bye, Na-chan!"

He turned back, doing his best to ignore her – still extremely handsome but all the more idiotic – father and smiled at her, giving a small wave.

"Bye, Emi," he said. "Remember to tell someone where you're going next time!"

Then he sent a glare at the father before stomping away, dust from the gravel underneath his shoes rising around his feet.

This fucking day and it's fucking idiotic, moronic people!


	2. Chapter 2

**So, hey guys! I was going to write you a note in the last chapter but my internet was not co-operating and it was the middle of the night so when the chapter worked I just posted it, haha. Also, that was the first time I posted on this site so I didn't really know how it worked (still don't to some degree).**

**I answered the comments, except those who left a comment as a guest since I can't PM you, but I don't know if that's the way I'm supposed to answer? Anyway, if you didn't get an answer tell me because I always make a point to answer the comments :)**

**To the guest commenters(well all of you who read and followed and favourited and commented, haha); Thank you! I'm really glad you liked it! This got a lot more response than I thought it would.**

**Okay, I'll stop before I start going off on a completely different topic than I should.**

**So, I hope you'll like this chapter as well! And excuse the mistakes! English isn't my first language and I haven't proofread properly!**

* * *

**02\. The Friend of a Friend's Friend and a Not So Unknown Stranger**

"I can't believe I quit!" Naruto groaned and slumped over the table he and two of his friends, Kiba and Shikamaru, were sitting at in their usual fast-food restaurant close to their university. "Even if my boss is an ass I need that job! I can't pay for my course books or rent or anything without it! I'm such a moron!"

"You are," Kiba agreed through a mouthful of fries from beside him, glancing up from his hamburger plate.

"I really thought that was something we'd already established," Shikamaru added without even bothering to tear his eyes away from his phone to look across the table at Naruto and be any sort of consoling friend.

Naruto sent them both a scathing glare. Not that they were looking _or_ caring anyway.

"Jeez, kick a guy when he's down, why don't you?" he grumbled, pressing his forehead against the plastic tabletop.

His two friends ignored him and he looked up through his fringe to see them quite literally not giving a fuck; one continuing to eat without a bother in the world and the other reading something on his phone with a small frown.

"What am I gonna do!" he exclaimed loudly in frustration to get their attention and finally made them look at him properly.

"Seriously Naruto," Shikamaru sighed and put his phone down, picking up the coke he had bought and taking a sip. "You're twenty-two and should be able to take proper responsibility of your life, right? Why are you moping around without even trying barely two days after you quit your job when nothing has stopped you from moving forward before? Even when our economics teacher said you definitely would fail the course you still pulled through in the end."

Naruto wrinkled his nose. Shikamaru was right; he wasn't usually one to sit still, neither was he one to give up easily. But hadn't he been taking responsibility for himself his entire life? The orphanage wasn't much to cheer for in that department, especially since he was the oldest child there for the larger part of his childhood, and he had moved away to another city when he was sixteen – meaning he had actually started to take responsibility for his life a lot earlier than normal teens.

None of his current friends (aka Kiba, Shikamaru and Choji) knew that though. He didn't want to put a burden on them by telling his story and he definitely didn't want them pitying him. The only one who knew – apart from the kids he had grown up with in the orphanage – was his only friend from childhood, Gaara. And he hadn't seen him ever since he moved from the small town he previously had lived in to attend the one collage in the entire country that would give him free tuition because he was an orphan.

"You might be in luck, though," Kiba said suddenly and Naruto perked up, watching his friend expectantly. He grinned at him. "How are you with kids?"

Naruto frowned, puzzled.

"Well… okay, I guess…" he said hesitantly. Judging by his life so far, he was not all that bad at looking after children. "I mean, I like them and they seem to like me so… why? Do you need a babysitter or something? Wait," Naruto gasped, "you have a kid?!"

"No!" Kiba said, looking at him as if he was an idiot and Shikamaru rolled his eyes. "I think a friend of mine knows another friend who used to help this single parent with his kid," he continued. "She said that her friend had to leave due to family circumstances and that she had been trying to find another person to take her place while she was gone. Is that something you'd be interested in?"

"Mm," Naruto hummed in thought, snatching a few fries off Kiba's plate and leaning back in his seat. "Isn't the pay kind of low for that sort of job though? I'm not sure it will cover my living expenses."

Kiba's grin widened and he looked like he was sitting on some really juicy information. Naruto and Shikamaru exchanged a glance and a raised eyebrow.

"From what I hear, this person is pretty well off and would probably pay you double the amount you earned in that stationary shop."

Naruto's jaw dropped. If that was true, his life would get so infinitely easier! He wouldn't have to live paycheck to paycheck anymore!

"Really?!" he asked in astonishment and Kiba nodded. "Okay then! How do I get this job?"

"Dunno," he shrugged. "My friend told me the father was pretty suspicious of new people being near his daughter, so I think the previous nanny or whatever would need to tell him to hire you. I can ask my friend for that nanny's number so you can ask her more about it if you want?"

"Yes please!" Naruto all but yelled, turning a few heads in the restaurant. He ignored them and leaned over his friend as he took his phone out.

Kiba pushed his face away playfully.

"Take it easy, dude," he laughed. "I won't be able to message her if you block my view."

Naruto pulled an ugly grimace at him and snatched a few more fries, earning a punch to his shoulder. Shikamaru watched them disinterestedly for a moment before picking up his phone again to continue what he had been doing earlier.

A few minutes later Naruto was staring at a new phone number in his contact list, the person it belonged to named Sakura Haruno. He fiddled with the buttons nervously – his phone wasn't as fancy as Kiba's or Shikamaru's touch-screen ones since he couldn't afford anything as expensive as that – while absentmindedly listening to his two friends talking about some new video game before sighing and locking the screen, putting it in his back pocket. He would call this Sakura person when he got home.

* * *

"I wanna go to the park!" Emi yelled from somewhere upstairs and Sasuke, who happened to be in the kitchen at that moment, filling a glass with water, nearly dropped it at the sudden shout. "The park, daddy! Let's go!"

Sasuke rubbed his forehead tiredly, waiting for his daughter to run down the steps and storm into the kitchen while taking a sip from the glass. She quickly made her way around the mahogany dinner table in the middle of the room and latched herself onto his leg like a koala, staring up at him with puppy eyes.

"Please?" she asked sweetly and Sasuke couldn't help the small twitch of his lips at her attempt to act cute (and succeeding quite well).

He was well aware of why she wanted to go to the park. She had been pestering him about it for a week now – ever since she had met that blond man. That was really all Sasuke remembered about the person his daughter had seemed to take an immense liking to; his sunny blond hair. Granted, he had been so worried about Emi that he had barely noticed anything apart from that she wasn't hurt and that someone was standing with her.

"Emi, it's six in the evening and I'm about to start dinner," he reasoned as he pried her off his leg and knelt down to her eye level. "We can go some other time, okay?"

"But what if Na-chan is there alone?" she asked fearfully.

Sasuke didn't know why his daughter believed the blond man ('Na-chan' as she called him since she apparently didn't remember his full name) practically lived in the park, but she was always so very worried that he was alone.

"I'm sure he has a home, princess, and that he's there right now," he reassured her, like he had every time this past week, caressing her hair.

Emi pursed her mouth and puffed her cheeks in dissatisfaction.

"I wanted him to do my hair too…" she mumbled.

"Emi," Sasuke sighed. "How many times have I told you not to trust strangers so easily? Remember the last time you did? You were almost kidnapped!"

Emi squirmed a little where she stood, looking down at her feet guiltily. Sasuke didn't like reminding her of that incident at all; but he had to, in order to get his message across.

It had been almost half a year ago Emi had nearly been kidnapped. A woman had found her playing outside on the lawn to the daycare center and had talked to her every day over the wooden fence surrounding the outside area for about a week, telling her stories of her daughter and family. Then one day she had convinced Emi to come with her to meet her 'weak and sick' daughter, which Emi oh so reminded her of. Sasuke didn't know how she had known Emi was his daughter, but she had clearly wanted to take her as hostage in order to get money.

Luckily, both Itachi and Sasuke were supposed to pick Emi up together that day and they had arrived just in time to see how the woman dragged a struggling Emi to her car. Itachi immediately manhandled the woman – quite roughly without any sort of remorse since she was trying to hurt his 'precious little niece' – to keep her from escaping while Sasuke gathered a shaken and shocked Emi in his arms before calling the police. After that, and after stopping Itachi from tearing the daycare center apart in anger, Sasuke had moved his daughter to the high security daycare she was now in.

"But daddy and Tachi saved me before the woman pushed me in the car," she argued, albeit weakly. She knew what his answer would be. They had had this conversation many times before.

"I know, but we can't always be there to keep you out of trouble," he picked her up and sat her on the counter. "And we don't know anything about this 'Na-chan', so it would be best if we stayed away from the park for a while."

"He's not bad," Emi mumbled stubbornly.

Sasuke decided not to answer her as he moved over to the fridge and took out some vegetables for the stew he was going to make for their dinner.

Even if he wanted to always make Emi happy, it was still better to be safe than sorry.

* * *

Naruto twisted the paper wrapper from the straw he used in his orange juice nervously while glancing around the small café he was in, his gaze travelling over the happily chatting customers picking at their muffins or sipping whatever they had ordered from their cups. When he caught himself starting to rip the paper to pieces he let it go and picked up his glass of juice for something else to occupy his hands with, looking out the window he was sitting next to in a lone corner to watch the people passing outside on the street absentmindedly.

He was supposed to meet the friend of Kiba's friend – Sakura. They had agreed to meet, one and a half week after he had gotten her number and called her, to have a little job interview. She had been out of town for a while but was supposed to come back today to run some errands and they both had thought it was a good time since she was already there and thus neither she nor Naruto would have to take time off to travel to wherever the other was.

She was late, however, and Naruto was starting to worry he had gotten the time, date or place wrong.

He sighed and pulled out his phone, checking if he had any messages he might have missed. When he found nothing in his inbox he let out another sigh and went back to staring out the window, trying to stay calm.

"Excuse me," a female voice suddenly said beside him and he snapped his head in the direction it had come from. "Are you by any chance Naruto Uzumaki?"

His eyes widened slightly as they fell upon soft pink colored hair, which surrounded a heart shaped face with piercing green eyes watching him curiously. She was very pretty – much prettier than he had imagined when she had told him to look for a girl with pink hair when he asked how he would find her. He had thought she would be some hippie, but her skinny jeans and white blouse kind of contradicted that along with the fact that her hair was shoulder length in a longer version of a bob cut, making her look like a very professional secretary or business woman.

When he noticed the playful twinkle in her eyes he realized he had been staring and stood up so fast his chair turned over. She raised her eyebrows in amusement and he laughed embarrassedly, holding out his hand for her to shake.

"Yeah, that's me," he smiled in greeting – although a little belatedly. "You must be Sakura Haruno?"

"Correct," she smiled back as she took his hand and shook it once.

Naruto noted she hadn't ordered anything and gestured towards the counter.

"Would you like something to drink or…?"

She shook her head as she took the seat opposite him.

"I just ate lunch," she explained and took out a pen and notebook from her bag, putting it neatly on the table in front of her.

Naruto nodded and bent down to pick his chair up, sitting down again and clasping his hands in his lap to keep from fiddling with the things in front of him while he waited for her to settle.

After she had put her bag away and brushed something off her side of the table, she proceeded to watch him for a moment more in silence, her gaze travelling up and down before locking eyes with him, looking calculating.

"So, Naruto, why exactly would you like this job?" she asked without any preamble, her smile gone and her tone deadly serious.

Naruto swallowed nervously and couldn't help fiddling with his fingers under the table.

"Well…" he said slowly. "I honestly just need a job and my previous boss was kind of a dick. My friend Kiba, the guy your friend knows, told me you were looking for someone to help your former employer and I grew up taking care of kids so I thought it'd be a good place to work."

Naruto had never been to a job interview before, since his boss in the stationary shop had only cared if he could count and lift boxes, and he was quite sure he wasn't doing a very good job of presenting himself properly. Still, Sakura took diligent, neat notes of everything he said.

"And do you know who my former employer is?" she asked, looking up at him again as if she was trying to see through him.

Naruto blinked. Was that a common question in job interviews?

"No," he answered truthfully. "I have no clue and I don't really care. I'm taking care of the child, so I just need to know he's the father right?"

Her eyes narrowed slightly and he wondered what was wrong with what he had said, his heart sinking in his chest a little.

"Do you read daily news papers?" she questioned suddenly and Naruto frowned, shaking his head. "Industrial magazines?" Another shake. "Entertainment? Do you watch TV?"

"No," he said in confusion.

He couldn't afford a TV and even if he had one, he sure as hell didn't have the money to pay for all the channels.

"I'm sorry, but is that part of the requirement for this job? To read magazines or watch TV? Because I don't particularly like reading that sort of thing or watch TV. I mean, I can read children's books and normal books, and I know how to operate a TV, but magazines…" He shrugged.

Sakura continued staring at him, although she looked a lot more thoughtful than calculating at the moment. Then she grinned and put her pen down.

"You know what, I think I'll take that offer of a drink," she said, "and let's talk about other stuff."

"Uh, sure?" Naruto answered uncertainly, not at all understanding the sudden change in her attitude.

Once Sakura had gotten an iced tea and they began talking normally about hobbies and life in general, Naruto started to relax, feeling more at ease with how well the conversation seemed to flow compared to the previous questions fired at him. He performed much better under casual circumstances and Sakura seemed nice enough, although she also seemed very protective of this father and child she had been taking care of, as she didn't want to reveal their names herself – which was quite understandable since she had practically lived with them for three years.

Maybe job interviews weren't that bad after all, Naruto found himself thinking as Sakura laughed heartily at his story about how he had been accused of being a pedophile about a week and a half ago.

* * *

_Sasuke!_

_I found you someone who can take my place until I get back! I have met him and talked to him a few times over the phone and he seems like a really nice person. He's good friends with one of my closest friend's friend. I know you said you could handle taking care of Emi by yourself, but I also know you usually take on a lot more than you can manage so I really think you should give him a chance! He seems to know a bit about children too!_

_I gave him your address and told him to drop by Friday at six pm, since I know both you and Emi are there then!_

_Be nice!_

_Love,_

_Sakura._

_P.S. He really doesn't seem to know who you are either, so I believe you won't have to deal with any fake behavior from him! But I didn't reveal your name, as requested._

Sasuke stared at the message on his computer screen, rubbing his forehead with one hand while drumming the fingers of his other against the oak table in his home office.

He had read through the e-mail from his childhood friend over and over ever since he had gotten it, trying to find some kind of clue as to what the person Sakura had met wanted from him. Nothing in what she had said stood out, however, and he was now sitting and waiting for the arrival of this – apparently nice – person to question him in person.

He looked through the e-mail again, his eyes narrowing slightly at the last sentence, and he scoffed. He had yet to see the day someone tried to be his friend without any ulterior motives (except Sakura, that is) and he sure as hell didn't believe this person didn't know who he was. He had been in countless interviews, both on TV and in magazines, and unless the person Sakura was talking about had been living under a rock, he was most likely lying.

He trusted his friend, however, and would at least meet the guy to judge him for himself.

He glanced at the clock, noting it was five minutes to six, and rose from his quite comfortable chair heavily, making his way across the hall to the kitchen to put on some hot water for tea or coffee in case the guest would want some.

To his surprise, the doorbell rang just as he passed the front door in the hallway on his way to the kitchen. He came to a stop, turning his head to stare at the door dumbly, for a moment completely forgetting what that sound meant. Then the doorbell rang again and he frowned, making his way over to let the guest in.

His initial surprise skyrocketed when the door swung open to reveal a young man with sky-blue eyes widening in apparent surprise as well, a sunny blond mop of hair falling into them. A quite familiar sunny blond mop of hair.

* * *

Naruto had been quite prepared for the ridiculously large houses in the neighborhood the address he had gotten from Sakura was in. He had also been prepared to walk a bit, since the busses didn't go further than two blocks away from where he needed to be – probably since every single person living in this area at least had one car in their household. He had even been prepared for the guard post at the beginning of the only street leading into the neighborhood, easily passing it with a small note from Sakura while glancing around timidly, feeling extremely out of place.

What he absolutely _hadn't_ been prepared for, however, was the very good-looking father whose daughter he had encountered a little over two weeks ago to open the door to the house he was supposed meet his employer in.

He had imagined all sorts of different looking fathers as he made his way up the long – too long, in his opinion – driveway and towards the white, large two story house. First, he had concluded that the father didn't have any green fingers whatsoever since the garden at the front was very simple, a few wild flowers growing here and there in the well kept grass and what looked like an apple tree to the right of the driveway, but otherwise nothing much.

Second, all he really knew about the man was that he was well off. Knowing this, he sincerely hoped the father wasn't some bald, irate businessman who spoiled his daughter rotten.

Naruto could work with this turn of events though, he thought as he stared at the utterly surprised looking but still extremely handsome man whose daughter he'd had the pleasure of meeting.

It took a moment for Naruto to remember how to breathe, but when he did he couldn't help the short, incredulous laugh that left him. The father seemed incredulous as he felt and they stood staring at each other for a moment, neither finding anything to say.

A small, excited gasp made them tear their eyes away from each other and look behind the dark haired man to see Emi skipping up to the door, smiling brightly.

"Na-chan! You found me!" she greeted cheerfully and latched onto his leg. "Can I have more candy?"

Naruto laughed nervously, glancing at the now completely expressionless father before digging out a few caramels for the girl.

"Yeah sure," he smiled and gave them to her. "Here."

She giggled happily as she grabbed all of them and looked up at him with a smile that outshone the sun.

"And! And!" she continued, so excited she was jumping in place. "Can-"

"Emi," the father interrupted warningly and both of them looked at him. "What did I tell you about accepting things from strangers?"

Emi stilled and frowned at him confusedly.

"But… Na-chan isn't a stranger…"

The man gave her a tight smile.

"Maybe," he relented. Then he rubbed his forehead tiredly before squatting down to Emi's level. "Listen, princess, me and…"

He looked up at Naruto for his name and he cleared his throat awkwardly, having been stupidly grinning at the nickname the father had given his daughter. It was very cute but somehow it didn't seem to fit the dark haired man's image to utter such endearments.

"Naruto," he filled in after gathering himself and the man gave a small nod in acknowledgment.

"Me and Naruto need to discuss a few things, so can you go to your room for a while?" he asked his daughter.

She frowned at him, clearly displeased, but nodded anyway, sullenly trudging over to the staircase that was in located opposite the door and out of sight. The two in the hallway watched her go in silence until they heard a door upstairs open and close.

"Is this some sort of scheme of yours?" the dark haired man said as soon as Emi was out of earshot and Naruto started.

"Wha-"

"You want something from me and my daughter, don't you?" He rounded on him, taking a threatening step forward and making Naruto shrink back slightly. "This is too much of a coincidence, don't you think?"

"Whoa, chill dude," Naruto muttered and tried to compose himself so that he wouldn't look as intimidated as he felt.

"My _name_ is not '_dude_'," the man growled. "It's Sasuke. Uchiha Sasuke."

"Well then, Uchiha Sasuke," Naruto said and enough courage to put his hand out. "It is very nice to officially meet you. I'm Naruto Uzumaki."

Sasuke stared at him in cautious disbelief, as if he was waiting for him to explode or laugh or something equally mental – he really didn't know what. His gaze shifted to Naruto's outstretched hand, looking like it was offending him in some way. Naruto flexed his fingers slightly before giving up on the whole 'handshaking' thing and slowly lowered his arm again.

"Naruto Uzumaki," Sasuke repeated slowly after a few seconds, as if to test the feel of his name on his tongue, and Naruto felt himself straighten up a bit in response. "Why should I trust you?"

"Right," he said sheepishly. "Sakura mentioned you were not a trusting kind of person."

Sasuke's eyes narrowed dangerously and Naruto cleared his throat.

"Well, to start off, I looked after Emi when she was lost."

"Which proves what, exactly?"

"That I mean her no harm?" Naruto answered, although it came out as a question. Then he sighed. "Look, man, I really couldn't care less what you think of me, but from what Sakura told me you need help with your daughter and I have enough free time to actually do it. I grew up taking care of children and Emi seems to like me so the only thing you should be worrying about is if I want to stay or not, which is not what I would like, what with the way you're acting at the moment."

They fell into silence again while watching each other thoughtfully, a clock somewhere ticking away the seconds. Sasuke looked like he was in the process of x-raying him, taking him apart to see into his very soul and Naruto tried not to show how nervous that made him as he stared right back at him.

It looked like Sasuke was debating with himself what he should do with Naruto. He didn't know why he had to be debating in the first place, but Naruto was sure he was good enough at taking care of children and now that he knew it was Emi he was supposed to look after he felt kind of relieved. He liked the little, energetic girl, even if her father seemed to think every single person on the planet was a spawn of Satan.

Finally, Sasuke seemed to make his decision and he let out a heavy sigh.

"Fine," he said tiredly and Naruto gave him a small smile. "I expect you to be here in the mornings to help me prepare Emi for daycare since I often run late and I want you to pick her up as well in the afternoons so she doesn't have to wait until they nearly close. If you don't have a driver's license I will arrange for a driver to take you both to where you need to be. However, I do expect you to know how to cook and the basic medical knowledge, such as bandaging a sprain or cleaning a scrap or wound. Am I clear?"

"Crystal," Naruto answered without missing a beat.

"Do you have any questions?"

"Well, I go to college so I would need to study at times while looking after Emi…" Naruto said uncertainly, not sure how Sasuke would react.

He simply nodded, however, and pointed behind him.

"You can use either the living room or the kitchen," he said, but a small frown appeared on his forehead. "How old are you?"

"Uh, twenty-two," Naruto answered, afraid his age would be some sort of problem.

He looked him up and down thoughtfully before lifting his shoulders in an almost miniscule shrug and motioning for Naruto to follow with a small wave of his hand, another softer sigh leaving his lips.

"I'll show you the house then, Naruto," he said and Naruto couldn't help liking how his name sounded in Sasuke's voice.

This could get a little tricky.


	3. Chapter 3

**3\. The Weird Stalker and a Not So Bad Kid**

Naruto stood staring at the dark wooden door in front of him, weighing the key to it in his hand and hitching the strap of his messenger bag higher up his shoulder.

This was the first day he was actually going to take care of Emi. For real. Without her father.

He had only spent a day with her before while Sasuke was at home just to see how their daily lives usually were like and learn to find his way around the large house – which should be called a mansion, really. What did they even do with all that space? The ceiling on both floors was so high he almost felt like he was in a church, and every single room was around the size of a small studio apartment. Everything was nicely decorated, though, with dark wooden furniture contrasting well with the creamy white walls, giving the interior a warmer feel. And of course the house had all the latest electronics. The kitchen was filled with shiny surfaces looking as if they had never been used – well there _was_ a lady cleaning the entire house every other day, apparently – and the living room should really be called a small theatre. Even the bathrooms were spotless and modern to the extreme.

He liked Emi's room the best – the only room he really had been to except the kitchen, living room and bathroom. It had soft pink-colored walls with a bed covered in an equally pink bedspread and fluffy, cream colored pillows. Above it hung a nice, pink tulle fabric like a curtain, making it look like a perfect bed for a princess. Animal plushies flocked it as well and Naruto still couldn't figure out how Emi slept with all of them on her bed every night – which was what he had heard from Sasuke when he questioned where to put all of them once she was supposed to go to bed.

That was another thing; Sasuke didn't seem as tense as he had been the first time they officially met and was actually quite civil now. However, he kept a seemingly effortless blank or annoyed expression on his face whenever he and Naruto were speaking. Naruto would have thought he simply hadn't learned how to use his facial muscles properly, unless he hadn't witnessed him smile and laugh with his daughter, which led him to believe that Sasuke was still a little wary of him. He kind of understood his reason, though. From what he had learned, Sasuke was the youngest child of a very well off family and had been raised to succeed his father along with his older brother. He was also clearly aware of how good-looking he was, which could only mean he had chosen to stay distant from new and unknown people since he knew they most likely only wanted to be friends with him for his social status or his appearance.

But he really did look stunning when he smiled. As much as Naruto didn't want to admit it – because really, that was his boss and he absolutely shouldn't be thinking this at all – he felt a small fluttering in his chest whenever Sasuke gave Emi an adoring or amused smile.

He shook himself slightly to get back to reality when he felt his cheeks growing a little warm and a small smile spreading on his lips, squaring his shoulders before determinedly putting the key in the lock and turning it without letting himself feel nervous. Then he opened the door a crack to stick his head inside, checking if anyone was home.

"Hello?" he asked hesitantly and opened the door wider. This was the first time he entered without ringing the doorbell and it felt kind of weird. "It's me… Naruto…"

He stepped inside uncertainly and toed off his shoes just as there was a clatter coming from down the hall before small feet could be heard running.

"Na-chan!"

Emi rounded the corner to the kitchen at top speed, not pausing for even a second as she threw herself at him from the top of the three steps leading up from the entrance hall. Naruto felt a wave of cold wash over him before his instincts kicked in and he dropped his bag to throw himself forward as well, catching her mid-air and making her giggle happily as he let out a huff of air from the collision.

"Emi," he groaned, hitching her a little higher in his arms and putting her on his hip. "You can't just go jumping at nothing. What if no one's there next time?"

"But no one was not there!" Emi protested, blinking at him a little too innocently. "Na-chan was there!"

Naruto narrowed his eyes playfully, letting a slow mischievous smirk spread on his lips. Emi suddenly looked a little uncertain but didn't get the chance to try and wriggle out of his hold before he started tickling her side with one hand while gripping her tight with the other. She let out squeals of laughter, tightening her arms around Naruto's neck to keep from falling while huffing breathlessly through her laughs.

"Na-chan!" she pleaded through her laughs as she squirmed in his arms. "Sto-op!"

"Nu-uh," he chuckled and hoisted her higher so that she was hanging over his shoulder. "Bad girls need to be punished!"

Emi resorted to hitting his back weakly, her small feet kicking in the air while she continued to laugh.

"I'm not bad!" she let out in a mixture of a yell and a laugh.

Naruto was about to answer her but his eyes fell upon the face of her very irritated looking father coming down the stairs and he immediately stopped what he was doing, gently putting her down on the floor again. Emi gave him a confused look before glancing over her shoulder.

"I hired you to take care of Emi, not make a ruckus while I prepare for a very important phone conference," Sasuke grumbled.

"I'm very sorry, Mr. Uchiha," Naruto said awkwardly, not confident enough to use '_Sasuke_' to address the other yet.

He usually wouldn't have any qualms about using a person's first name, but Sasuke was… well, different. He kind of wanted his permission since he had been so suspicious of him in beginning – still was, actually.

"We were just having a bit of fun," he continued sheepishly.

"It was very funny, daddy," Emi chimed in, smiling sweetly when Sasuke turned his gaze on her.

He gave her a tiny smile – looking like he was doing his best to keep it from spreading, which in turn made Naruto grin.

"I'm sure it was, princess," Sasuke agreed.

He looked up at Naruto, who quickly cleared the smile off his face and tried to look serious. Sasuke must have caught a small glimpse of it anyway because his eyebrows lifted slightly. But he didn't say anything other than:

"I will be late tonight. Emi's dinner should be ready at six. Her clothes for the day are already on the bed, so you just need to put them on before you two eat breakfast; I need to sort out some documents. Also, the driver should be here at around half past seven."

Then he turned and stalked back up the stairs before Naruto had the chance to say anything. He let out a quiet sigh and looked down at Emi, taking in her pajamas with small yellow ducks printed on them. She grinned back up at him.

"Let's go get you dressed," he said and smiled as well. "Unless you want to go in your pajamas?"

Emi's expression turned excited, her eyes twinkling.

"Can I?" she asked hopefully and Naruto laughed lightly, worriedly glancing up the stairs.

"I was kidding," he hastily explained. "I don't think your dad would like that."

Emi wrinkled her nose in disappointment. But she was quickly over it and grabbed Naruto's hand to pull him up the stairs, down the hallway to the last door and into her room while excitedly prattling about how everyone at her kindergarten would be surprised when he dropped her off instead of her dad and someone she called Tachi.

* * *

"Don't you have better things to do other than wasting my time?" Sasuke growled angrily into the receiver of his phone. "Like actually getting to work?"

"Little brother," Itachi tutted condescendingly.

Sasuke leaned back in his office chair, twirling his fountain pen as he resigned himself to listening to his brother's very unnecessary deductions about Naruto. He knew he couldn't hang up unless he wanted Itachi to call him over and over again, disturbing the otherwise peacefully quiet air of his office.

"You do realize I will have to investigate this Naruto you hired, do you not? I can't leave my little princess in the hands of a child molester," Itachi continued.

Sasuke rolled his eyes although his lips twitched slightly. Then he glanced at the shadow of his father passing by the frosted glass in the door to his office.

He had not told his brother he actually had changed his opinion of Naruto during the few hours they had become more acquainted with each other. He was quite… sunny. As in he smiled a lot and appeared to be unnecessarily cheerful, but he seemed like a good kid. Well, '_kid'_ was a bit much but Sasuke _was_ a whole six years older than him, so he decided he had every right to call Naruto that.

Also, Emi was completely enamored with him, for reasons Sasuke simply couldn't understand. He knew children had a tendency to get attached to things quickly, though, and maybe Emi was so adamant on being with Naruto because she actually had been a little lonely ever since Sakura had left. Naruto just happened to be the first other person Emi really talked to and connected with outside her home and kindergarten.

"Well, father is here and asking for those documents you were supposed to have finished," he sighed. "And Naruto is not-"

"Hush!" Itachi hissed suddenly and Sasuke frowned. "He's returning from his classes."

Sasuke rubbed his forehead tiredly, not bothering to tell his brother Naruto couldn't hear them as he was on the other side of a phone and Itachi was apparently stalking his employee in his car.

"Wait a minute," Itachi mumbled slowly. "Why did you hire a driver for him? Is he worth it?"

"Itachi," Sasuke grumbled. "I will not let Emi ride the bus or subway and Naruto doesn't have a driver's license."

"Hm," he hummed. "Good decision then, little brother."

Sasuke put his pen down, listening to the engine of his brother's car for a moment as he started it up and started driving before taking a small breath.

"Itachi?"

"Mm?"

"Come back to work!"

"You worry too much, Sasuke," Itachi chuckled. "I already put all the documents father asked for on my desk and – ooh, no. You're not losing me that easily!"

Sasuke groaned.

"He's trying to escape! Sasuke! What kind of nanny did you hire?!"

"The kind that doesn't need to be stalked. I hope you didn't run a red light."

"Don't worry, little brother. I can just tell the police my precious little niece has been kidnapped," Itachi chortled while managing to sound deadly serious at the same time. "Are you sure we can trust him?"

Sasuke so badly wanted to point out that it was not '_we_' that needed to trust Naruto, but only Sasuke himself. And he had reluctantly admitted to himself he might have jumped to conclusions a bit too quickly concerning the blond man the third time they had met. Sure he was looking at Sasuke with a slightly star-struck gaze, but he was nowhere near behaving as pompously or crazily as people usually did around him – which made Sasuke think he was just a bit dazzled by the wealthy surroundings he suddenly found himself in.

He was great with Emi as well, matching her energy level while still managing to somehow be mature when he needed to be. Honestly, Sasuke was a little impressed with how well he seemed to fit in with them just from what he had seen during that one day he had spent with them.

"I caught up with them again, Sasuke!" Itachi exclaimed triumphantly.

"Whatever!" he growled, actually a little worried for both his brother and Naruto. It wouldn't do to have either of them getting into an accident. "Just get back here!"

Then he hung up, rubbing his temples as a headache slowly came creeping. If Itachi scared Naruto away Sasuke would strangle him. He couldn't find honest and genuine people easily and from what he had seen of Naruto, he was as close as he could get to one at the moment.

* * *

Naruto had the unnerving feeling of being watched as he made his way out of his university, awkwardly sliding into the backseat of the black car with tinted windows waiting for him after having waved goodbye to his friends. He greeted the driver before glancing back as the car slid into the afternoon traffic to see a silvery Porsche trying to stealthily follow them.

He frowned. For trying to be sneaky, the person in the car couldn't have thought it through properly, what with their flashy choice of car and not so discreet tailgating.

He suddenly remembered Sasuke telling him how Emi had almost been kidnapped once as he explained exactly why Naruto needed an ID-card along with a note signed by Sasuke just to drop Emi off and pick her up, which was why the car following them was extremely worrying. Maybe someone thought it would be easier to get to Emi now since Naruto was new to this whole situation. But why would a seemingly rich person need to kidnap another rich person's kid?

"Um," Naruto started, getting the driver's attention. "Has that car following us been doing that the entire day?"

The driver frowned and looked in the review mirror.

"No, but it has been parked behind me since I arrived to pick you up." The driver met his eyes through the mirror. "The next light is almost turning red, do you want me to speed up sir?"

Naruto nodded.

"Yeah, that might be a good idea. I don't want Emi to get kidnapped on my first official day."

The driver nodded and Naruto gave a last glance back as their speed picked up, putting some distance between them and their follower. Then he pulled out his phone, hesitating slightly before deciding it was better to be safe than sorry and pressed the call button after finding the number to Sasuke's private cellphone. He had said to call him if there were any sort of suspicious happenings, and a car following them was certainly such a suspicious happening. He couldn't help but feel a little nervous, and it was sadly not because of the person stalking them.

"Hello?" Sasuke answered on the first ring, sounding quite annoyed and Naruto bit his lip.

"Yeah, hi. It's me, Naruto," he started awkwardly.

"Oh," Sasuke's tone changed slightly and he let out a tired sigh. "Right. If you're calling me about a car following you, it's my brother."

Naruto blinked.

"What?"

"He's quite protective of Emi and has investigated every new person she develops some sort of relationship with after the kidnapping attempt, which means he's currently in the middle of investigating you."

Naruto's mouth fell open.

"You can't be serious," he said incredulously. "That's… kind of…"

"I know," Sasuke muttered. "If you could please talk to him so he knows you're not a threat, I would be very grateful."

"Um…" Naruto hesitated, not sure when exactly he had gained Sasuke's trust in the few, brief moments they had met. "Yeah, of course… you think I'm not a threat anymore?"

There was a long moment of silence on the other side of the line and Naruto was starting to think the other had hung up on him. Then there was some rustle of paper and a sigh.

"I have not completely decided yet," Sasuke finally said. "But Sakura deemed you trustworthy and Emi likes you quite a lot, so I'm trying to keep an open mind and not judge you before I get to know you better."1

Naruto felt his lips spread in a wide smile and he had to stifle a laugh.

"Wow, thanks."

"Hn," Sasuke answered.

What the fuck was '_hn_'? Naruto wondered, his smile fading away.

_Hn_? H – n . Was it some sort of rich people abbreviation or something he needed to learn? He wasn't so sure he liked that idea, as Sasuke himself had sounded utterly arrogant and snobbish – not something Naruto would ever strive to be. Then again, he _was_ a person who had grown up rich so Naruto really shouldn't be all that surprised Sasuke knew how to sound like one.

Rich people were weird, he concluded as he glanced back at the silvery mustang still following them.

But he did as Sasuke had asked and approached the car once they stopped outside Emi's kindergarten. He couldn't see inside because of the tinted windows but he could practically feel a pair of eyes following him as he drew closer to the passenger side, knocking on the dark glass and waving.

It took a few moments before the driver's door opened and a man with long, silky-looking hair as dark as Sasuke's tied at his neck stepped out. Naruto flexed his fingers nervously when their gazes met, feeling a lot more intimidated by just the scrutinizing look from this person than he had felt by Sasuke's angry growls the first time they officially met.

"Uhm," he cleared his throat and the man's dark eyes narrowed slightly. "Hello, I'm Naruto Uzumaki. Emi's new caretaker."

The man looked at him for a moment before abruptly walking around the car with long strides. Naruto had to force himself not to take a few steps back as the other stopped in front of him, his height quite intimidating as well – he was a whole head taller than him.

"Itachi," the man said and stuck out his hand. "Sasuke's older brother."

Naruto hesitantly grabbed Itachi's hand, absentmindedly reflecting that although he was slightly frightening he was a whole lot more polite than Sasuke.

"Nice to meet you," he said and gave him what he hoped looked like a friendly smile.

Itachi simply raised his eyebrows and looked him up and down once, as if to assess his worth with just a scan of his outer appearance. Naruto rather wished Sasuke had told him a little more about his brother earlier so he could have prepared for this encounter. All he knew was that he and Sasuke were preparing to run the company together.

"Na-chan!"

They both looked up to see Emi hanging nearly halfway out a window on the second floor. Naruto's entire body went cold and he was about to run up to the tall iron fence surrounding the kindergarten to climb over it when the teacher he had met that morning while dropping Emi off appeared behind her, scolding the girl. He let out a sigh of relief as Emi was brought back inside and he relaxed.

There was a soft chuckle behind him and he looked back to see Itachi approach him with a small smile. He didn't say anything though, only patted his shoulder (quite hard) and continued onward to the guard post by the gates, leaving Naruto to blink after him in confusion.

Yep, rich people were _weird_.

* * *

When Sasuke dragged himself through the front door later that night he was met with the low murmur of the TV and soft chuckles. He frowned as he put his bag on the small chest of drawers to the left and pulled off his shoes, wondering why Naruto was letting Emi stay up this late. Ready to give the scolding of a lifetime, he rounded the corner only to find Emi was nowhere to be seen and the plush couch in front of the TV was occupied by none other than his brother, Naruto on the floor in front of him with a thick book laying open on the coffee table.

They both looked up as he entered and Naruto immediately stood, grinning at him.

"Welcome home," he said. Sasuke only managed to blink at him. "Emi has already eaten, taken a bath and gone to bed. I made enough food, so there's dinner for you too."

There was a beat of silence in which Naruto – and Itachi – watched him expectantly. Sasuke cleared his throat, feeling a little awkward under their stares.

"Thank you," he answered slowly, distantly reflecting no one had welcomed him home – with dinner ready, no less – in a long time. If ever, really.

Itachi snorted and nudged Naruto in the side teasingly.

"Shouldn't you offer him a bath as well?"

Naruto shot him a glare although his cheeks reddened slightly and Sasuke's frown deepened.

"I see you two get along," he said suspiciously, feeling strangely out of place in his own home.

Naruto opened his mouth to answer him but Itachi beat him to it.

"Sasuke!" he said cheerfully. "Are my ears deceiving me or are you forcing Naruto to travel back and forth every day instead of offering him a room?"

"Uuh, Itachi," Naruto said nervously, glancing between the two brothers. "I didn't say that."

Sasuke's eyes narrowed. '_Itachi_'? Since when did his brother allow people he barely just met call him by his first name? He had asked Naruto to talk to Itachi, not become best friends with him.

Itachi waved his hand dismissively.

"You let Sakura stay here without any problems," he continued, ignoring Naruto's comment.

Sasuke pinched the bridge of his nose between his fingers and sighed. Itachi never ceased to amuse himself on his behalf. He had done everything from filling Sasuke's lemonade with salt instead of sugar when they were kids to actually spread the rumor that he and Sakura were a thing just to see them squirm in the awkward situations it caused – to which he had earned a well-deserved punch from the latter.

"She is my _childhood_ friend," he said tiredly as an explanation. Although he was a bit less suspicious of Naruto, he still proceeded with caution – meaning he wasn't about to let him live with his daughter just yet. "Naruto is not."

"It's really okay, Mr. Uchiha," Naruto reassured hastily. "I never expected to actually live here."

"Mr. Uchiha?" Itachi questioned with raised eyebrows and Naruto shot him another annoyed look.

"Anyway." He cleared his throat and picked up his book. "Since you're back, I'll go home now. See you tomorrow morning."

He gave a small bow to the two brothers and pushed past Sasuke hurriedly. Sasuke couldn't blame him. Itachi wasn't really an easy person to deal with.

"Do you need a ride?" Itachi called, this time earning a dirty look from his own brother.

Sasuke was glad his house was big enough that a small call wouldn't wake Emi. He didn't like taking risks, though, and Itachi was pushing it.

"No thank you!" Naruto answered in a quiet call from around the corner, a little more tactful than his brother at least.

Itachi gave Sasuke a pointed look, which clearly said '_You're a bad boss'_, and Sasuke sighed. He turned back to the entrance hall, catching Naruto just as he was about to put his hand on the door handle. His brother was kind of right; it was late and Naruto was going to return tomorrow morning so he really should get a ride at least.

"Naruto," Sasuke said to stop him.

He jumped and turned to him with wide eyes.

"Yes?"

Sasuke slipped his shoes on again before stalking past a puzzled Naruto, opening the door.

"Itachi, stay here until I get back!" he said over his shoulder to his brother who had come out of the living room as well, looking irritatingly amused. Then he turned back to Naruto. "Come on."

"Is there something wrong?" Naruto asked as he closed the door behind him, looking a little cautious.

Sasuke raised his eyebrows at him before continuing down the few steps leading up to the door, certain Naruto would follow him as he started making his way across the lawn to the garage.

"No," he answered evenly. "You live on the other side of town, correct? I'm taking you home."

"Oh, but-"

"It's late and you need to come back here tomorrow before school," Sasuke interrupted him, knowing he would decline. "I may not trust you enough to let you live with us yet, but I don't want you to be exhausted either."

Naruto was silent the rest of the way to the garage and Sasuke glanced back at him again, his lips quirking at the slight frown accompanied by pink cheeks. It was interesting seeing him getting embarrassed over a ride home but Sasuke didn't comment on it and they got in the car in silence.

He glanced at Naruto, who was staring out his window, a few times as they made their way through the peacefulness of the city which only happened during nights followed by workdays. Sasuke contemplated turning on the radio to ease the slight awkwardness in the air, but reconsidered it as all he ever listened to was the news and he wasn't sure what Naruto liked. He drummed his fingers against the steering wheel once, wondering if he should start a conversation instead or not.

"Sasuke," he finally said after another while of silence, making Naruto jump and turn to him with wide eyes.

"What?"

"You don't need to call me Mr. Uchiha," he elaborated. "Sasuke is fine."

For some reason, Naruto blushed again and averted his eyes. However, there was a small smile on his lips despite the obvious attempt to keep it from spreading by biting his lip.

"Okay," he said looking back at him, apparently having given up on trying not to smile and instead right out grinning. "Sasuke."

Sasuke couldn't help the corners of his lips lifting slightly as the other sounded genuinely glad to be calling him by his first name.

Naruto really wasn't a bad kid at all.

* * *

**I don't feel good about this chapter. It's just... I don't know... weird?**

**Anyway, I'm not sure I mentioned this in the last chapter but I have a lot of stuff going on so I won't be updating regularly or frequently unless I have the time. I have never left a story unfinished, though, and I intend to keep it that way, if any of you were worried haha!**

**So, I hope you had some enjoyment of this crappy and weird chapter! I'll try doing better!**

**Bye bye!**


	4. Chapter 4

**04\. Sasuke's smiles and Naruto's small crush**

Strangely, Sasuke wasn't irritated.

It was widely known amongst his acquaintances that he was a man who quite liked his surroundings to be peaceful and quiet and would only tolerate Emi making unnecessary noises. But for some reason, Sasuke didn't mind the radio being turned on in the kitchen whenever Naruto was in charge of preparing breakfast for his daughter – which was almost everyday lately because of his busy schedule – while tunes of obnoxious pop-songs flitted up the stairs and into his room as he went about his morning routine. He didn't mind the increased amount of laughter in the house either – mostly because Emi seemed very happy, but Naruto's loud laugh wasn't unpleasant either. He was also entirely okay with coming home to bustling sounds in the kitchen and Emi's never ceasing babble about what had happened during the day as she watched Naruto work from her position on the counter while he answered her every now and then.

Nor did he really mind the humming Naruto and Emi were doing at the moment while sitting and coloring in her color book while he poured himself a cup of coffee. He had intended to bring it up to his home office to continue his work as he waited for his brother to come so they could plan next week's meeting together, but found that their chattering and laughter at the moment were not as bothersome as he would have thought. It made him lean against the counter, mug in hand, and watch as Emi instructed Naruto on exactly what color should go where on his side of the page instead of going back up to work.

After a few weeks it had become a thing that seemed normal – expected even – to come down every morning to the sight of Emi and Naruto together in the kitchen either cooking something, coloring in her book together or Emi patiently sitting still as Naruto tried to put her hair up the way she wanted it for the day. Naruto had even started coming on the weekends since Sasuke really had no time to spare anymore and didn't want Emi to feel lonely.

It was slightly frightening, albeit reassuring, how well Naruto had acclimated himself into their everyday life. It felt so normal to have him there, playing with Emi, sitting at the coffee table reading his textbooks while she watched cartoons or moving around in the kitchen while making food, sometimes serenading her as she would sit on the counter and watch, her face glowing happily and proudly. If Sasuke didn't know better, he would say his daughter had developed a little crush on Naruto – and maybe she had, since she wanted him to be family, which took Sasuke by surprise because they really hadn't known Naruto for all that long.

"No, not the blue one," Emi instructed as she took the pencil away from Naruto and brought Sasuke out of his thoughts.

"I thought the blue was pretty, matching her eyes," Naruto said but accepted the pink pen handed to him.

"Her dress has to be pink because she's the princess," Emi explained wisely and he smiled at her in amusement.

"Oh, really?"

Emi nodded seriously, picking up a yellow pen and starting to fill in the princess's hair, her tongue poking out of the corner of her lips.

"And her hair has to be yellow."

Sasuke couldn't help the quirk of his lips as he watched the scene. His daughter had always been a very determined and thorough child.

"How about the prince then?" Naruto asked and pointed at the figure next to the princess, indulging Emi in her knowledge.

She looked at the prince thoughtfully for a while before searching through her color pencils.

"Princes have black hair and green eyes," she decided.

Naruto chuckled and glanced up at Sasuke, who raised his eyebrows at him in turn.

"So, your daddy's not a prince then?" he chortled, shaking with laughter at Sasuke's indignant look.

Emi frowned and looked up at her father as well.

"No," she answered. "Princes sing and dance and daddy doesn't."

This made Naruto burst into real laughter and he clutched his stomach, bending over the table to rest his forehead on it while he laughed. Emi stared at him confusedly and Sasuke just sighed, trying not to let the corners of his lips lift into something that would look too much like a smile.

"But Na-chan can be a princess," Emi suddenly uttered which made Naruto's head shoot up and his laughter cut short. Sasuke couldn't help the snort that left him and only smirked as Naruto sent him a small glare. "You just have to get long hair and wear a pink dress. And you sing."

This actually made Sasuke chuckle and Naruto stared at Emi, his cheeks turning pink and his mouth opening and closing, seemingly at a loss for words. He glanced at Sasuke again who only raised his eyebrows for the second time in amusement, managing to hide his small smile as he took a sip of his coffee as he watched Naruto try to find the right words.

Yeah, it was strange. Not only was Sasuke not irritated by the noises that accompanied Naruto's presence, he kind of thought the kid was amusing. And Sasuke never ever thought people were funny, except maybe his daughter. He found that he didn't mind it all that much either, because really, Naruto made it hard not to smile when he danced silly dances and sang in a girl's voice to the parts in Disney songs that required it.

It was also starting to get increasingly harder not to give an answering smile whenever Naruto shot him a grin or he and Emi rushed out from wherever they were to welcome him back home. He was so sunny and cheery most of the time it actually affected Sasuke. And it must be noticeable, because sometimes Naruto would blush when Sasuke would slip up and give him a small smile in return, and other times there would be a mischievous twinkle in his eyes, as if he knew Sasuke didn't really want to smile but couldn't stop himself.

"I think you're the princess, Emi," Naruto said, interrupting his thoughts, and he focused on the two at the table again.

Emi hummed in thought as she continued filling something in with red. As Sasuke watched them continue working his ears picked up the sound of the front door opening and closing and knew it must be Itachi. He was about to push away from the counter to go greet his brother when his daughter's next words made him stop short.

"Then Na-chan can be the queen," she said simply, not lifting her eyes from the coloring book but the excitement in her voice could still be heard.

Sasuke really couldn't stop the laughter that bubbled out of him both at his daughter's words and Naruto's embarrassedly horrified expression, his cheeks so red Sasuke was sure they could light up a dark room.

Just then Itachi sauntered into the kitchen, eyebrows raised as he let his gaze travel over the scene before he looked at Sasuke questioningly.

"What is so funny?" he asked, sounding a little astonished.

Sasuke managed to get his laughter in control – although he was unable to wipe away the small, amused smile on his lips – while Naruto, who hadn't noticed him enter the kitchen or the house even, jumped and turned to him with wide eyes. Emi looked up at him with a bright smile, standing up in her chair to jump into his arms with a small giggle.

"Tachi!" she exclaimed and Itachi smiled, stroking her hair lovingly. "Did you know? Did you know? I just made Na-chan a queen!"

"Oh, did you now," Itachi chuckled and Naruto's blush deepened, inevitably making Sasuke's amused quirk of his lips grow wider.

His brother glanced up at him with mirth shining in his eyes and Sasuke knew he was going to say something _very_ inappropriate so he quickly cleared his throat and put his cup in the sink.

"Itachi, we should start planning the meeting, don't you think?" he said in a steely voice, leaving no room for argument and thanking whatever higher power there was that he had good enough control over himself to finally wipe the amusement clear off his face and fix his brother with a determined stare.

Itachi chuckled but thankfully kept whatever he was about to say to himself and put Emi back in the chair, following Sasuke out of the kitchen and up the stairs.

As they left he heard Naruto mutter something like '_I should be a knight in armor, not a _queen,_ dammit!'_ which made another forbidden smile he couldn't help creep upon his face. But if his brother noticed he didn't let it show and it was soon forgotten as they got lost in numbers and names.

* * *

Naruto rubbed his eyes, viciously glaring at the sentence he had read at least twenty times in his economics book. He was seriously not in the mood for reading. Hadn't been for the two and a half hours he'd been sitting there.

He had moved himself and Emi over to the living room since he had a small test on Monday and needed to study, as he would spend the evening with friends, while he let Emi continue her coloring. He usually spent his time on the floor, sitting on a fluffy pillow while hunching over the coffee table, trying to cram words, math and theories into his brain, and Emi would either sit (more often, sprawl out) on the couch while watching cartoons or, like at the moment, sit next to him coloring as Sasuke either worked or sat in a meeting.

He had to admit; it was kind of nice spending his days together with Emi and Sasuke. He felt welcomed a lot sooner than he'd first thought he would, and it wasn't just because Emi seemed to adore him to bits. Her father hadn't been as rude or suspicious as he had been the first few days and Naruto even caught him smiling a few times. Although it was mostly directed at Emi, he sometimes had to wonder if he hadn't managed to put that small quirk of his lips there himself.

And that thought was kind of dangerous.

Naruto didn't deny the fact that he had been attracted to Sasuke ever since he met him, but during the past few weeks it had developed into something more of a crush. It wasn't a small crush either, sadly. It was one of those crushes that would quickly develop into something stronger the first chance it got, and Sasuke wasn't making it easier for him to not let it grow.

Sasuke had this pull on Naruto that made it hard for him to concentrate sometimes, especially when he was caught of guard, and Naruto had to force himself to not just stare at him whenever they were in the same room. He failed miserably a few times, which earned him weird looks from Sasuke, but he thought he was managing quite well, all things considered, because he didn't act nearly as much of a mess as other people did.

With a heavy sigh, Naruto gave up trying to read when he reached the bottom of the page without remembering anything and leaned his elbow on the table, head in hand, as he watched Emi continue coloring carefully while humming quietly.

He had been out with Emi and Sasuke a few times, to go shopping or to the park or whatever else Emi wanted and he wasn't really all that surprised at the amount of starry-eyed women (and a fair share of men as well) that seemed to gravitate towards Sasuke, almost unknowingly, and the way their cheeks would flush and their body language just screamed _'come and get me'_. It was awkward and a little frightening.

Sasuke, on the other hand, completely ignored them and always focused on Emi. It made Naruto smile. Sasuke could easily have whomever he wanted, but his only love seemed to be his daughter and that made him extremely happy to see.

And it made Naruto try very hard not to let even a simple look last too long, because he really didn't want to make things awkward since he needed the job and he really, _really_ liked Emi and wanted to be there for her.

"Does this not paint a pretty picture?" someone suddenly said from the direction of the entrance and both Emi and Naruto looked up to see Itachi watching them in amusement. "The queen and princess, spending their afternoon together."

Naruto felt himself blush once again and would have snapped at Itachi if Emi hadn't grinned so brightly at his comment. He chose to ignore him instead and went back to try and read his book.

"Oh, Sasuke, I think I might have upset the royal highness over there," Itachi chuckled and Naruto saw from the corner of his eye how Sasuke was stopped by his brother on his way to the kitchen.

"Itachi, let's just get the coffee and return to our planning," he said tiredly and Naruto was ever grateful that Sasuke didn't indulge his brother.

Itachi shrugged and thankfully left the doorway. Emi hurried to draw a few last, quick strokes before she got to her feet, bringing her color book with her.

"Look, daddy!" she said. "I finished the page!"

Sasuke smiled at her fondly and Naruto forced himself not to stare too long, his heart doing a weird thump-skip-thing.

"It's pretty," he said and stroked her hair. "You are good at picking colors."

Emi beamed proudly and turned to Naruto for his approval as well. He tore his eyes away from Sasuke's face just in time and turned his attention to her.

"Na-chan, look!"

Sasuke was right; Emi really had done a good job. She was quite a meticulous little child and it showed as not a single color or line was out of place in the coloring of the princess and prince's hair and clothes.

"Oh, it's very nice," Naruto complimented, pinching her cheek with a grin. She grimaced at him and he laughed. "You did good, Emi."

She grinned back at him happily.

"That's incorrect," Sasuke suddenly stated and they both looked at him questioningly. "Emi did _well._"

Naruto frowned up at him in confusion.

"What?"

"Superheroes do good, volunteers and doctors do good," he explained as he turned and started towards the kitchen to join his brother. "Emi did well. I'd rather my daughter learns the correct grammar."

Naruto grimaced at his back before childishly sticking his tongue out in retaliation, as he really didn't have any better comeback, which made Emi let out a bubbly giggle.

"Daddy!" she called and Sasuke turned back around.

To Naruto's horrified amusement, she pulled at the corners of her mouth with her fingers and stuck out her tongue, waggling it back and forth. Sasuke's eyes widened slightly in surprise and he shot Naruto an annoyed look.

"What exactly have you been teaching her?" he asked and Naruto wrinkled his nose, giving half a shrug. "She has never done such silly things before."

"Uh, well… you know… kids will be kids?" he tried but couldn't keep the laughter from his voice.

Sasuke's eyes narrowed dangerously but he said nothing, only shook his head and left for the kitchen, although Naruto could have sworn the corners of his lips twitched slightly as well. Emi grinned at Naruto, the mischievous glint in her eye making him think she wasn't as innocent as she seemed. He laughed and ruffled her hair, making her laugh as well before they both went back to what they were supposed to do.

* * *

Itachi was leaning against the counter while he waited for the coffee to finish brewing, watching Sasuke with an amused glint in his eyes as he entered the kitchen with a small smile of his own. He quickly wiped it off when he noticed his brother looking at him pointedly and ignored his knowing smirk as he opened a cupboard to bring out two cups.

"Doesn't Naruto want a cup?" Itachi asked, seemingly innocently, however Sasuke knew better. "He's been studying for a while, hasn't he?"

"He doesn't drink coffee," he answered. He had learned that Naruto absolutely hated the drink the second week of his employment and would mostly only drink orange juice. "And please stop annoying him, I don't want Naruto to leave just because you can't help amusing yourself at the cost of others."

Itachi gave him a look of mock hurt.

"I would never," he said dramatically.

Sasuke scowled at him.

"The company Christmas party, two years ago," was all he said and Itachi chuckled.

"I paid for that, you know," he informed him. "With a slap to the face."

Sasuke smirked at the memory of Itachi standing completely dumbfounded in the lobby to the hotel they had had the party in, clutching his right cheek after Sakura had stalked up to him and slapped him so hard it almost echoed around the wide space, turning a few curious heads in their direction. Sasuke would forever be thankful for her strong and sturdy personality, which finally managed to shut Itachi up for once.

"Either way," Sasuke said, "please leave Naruto alone."

Itachi didn't answer him as he watched him pour the brewed coffee into the cups with a small smile.

"You've softened, brother," he commented gently as Sasuke opened the fridge to take out the milk for him. "Well, you already grew soft when Emi was born, but Naruto has started to bring out another side of you, hasn't he?"

Sasuke frowned.

"I don't know what you're talking about," he muttered.

"Really, Sasuke," his brother chuckled. "You've been uncharacteristically positive lately. It's only been, what? A few weeks and already you're different. You _actually_ smile. Genuinely. That's something I've only seen you do around Emi before, but now Naruto too? And you care enough to ask me to leave him alone. If this had been anyone else, you'd have let them deal with me on their own. Like Sakura."

"I…" Sasuke started but trailed off. He really had nothing to say to that.

"I don't know how he did it, but Naruto broke through your defense at the speed of light without even trying," Itachi continued. "And I think you should cherish his friendship. God knows you need someone, a friend, to rely on other than your precious older brother and that hot tempered childhood friend of yours."

Sasuke rolled his eyes.

Itachi chuckled and turned around to go back upstairs, patting his shoulder gently on the way and leaving Sasuke to his thoughts.

Well, Sasuke hadn't really put up much of a fight against Naruto because he had proven to be a genuine, honest person. And he liked Naruto, even if he made him act a little uncharacteristic more often than not. But that was to be expected, since Sasuke let his guard down around him and was no longer afraid Naruto would betray him and Emi. He also found that he didn't care all that much about how easily Naruto had wormed his way into his and Emi's lives so effortlessly. It actually made him a little happy since – as Itachi had pointed out – he didn't have many people he trusted and he could use someone to actually talk to.

* * *

"How's the job?"

Naruto looked up from the screen on which he had watched Kiba and Choji play Mario Kart and at Shikamaru who hadn't raised his gaze from his phone. He glanced down at his two playing friends on the floor in front of the couch he and Shikamaru were sitting on, but they were too immersed in their game, so he concluded the question was aimed at him.

"Well," he started slowly. "It's nice. The girl's really cute and her father's okay too, although he was a prick the first day."

Shikamaru glanced up at him but was interrupted by Kiba who apparently had been listening in on their conversation after all.

"You know, you never really told us who you're working for," he said. "The way Ino spoke about him, you'd think he and his family hung the moon and stars and molded the entire freaking universe."

Naruto frowned thoughtfully. He knew Sasuke and his family were rich and quite well known from what Sakura had told him and what he'd seen himself, but he hadn't really bothered to look into it. Neither had he really had the time, as he was at their house most the time and only went home to sleep, otherwise occupied by classes and taking care of Emi. Sasuke hadn't mentioned anything about his work other than he had a lot of meetings and people to please and Naruto hadn't really felt like asking too much as it seemed to tire him out. Sasuke's own home should be a work related free zone at least.

"I don't know," he answered with a shrug. "I haven't really asked him about his work."

Kiba paused the game and tilted his head back to look at him. It caught the attention of Choji as well, and even Shikamaru's interest was piqued.

"What's his name, then?" Kiba asked.

"Sasuke," Naruto answered simply, not sure he should mention his last name judging by how people had reacted on the street when they saw him.

Kiba, Choji and Shikamaru exchanged thoughtful frowns of their own as they seemed to come to some mutual conclusion and Naruto raised his eyebrows at them questioningly.

"It wouldn't be… Sasuke Uchiha?" Choji asked slowly as Kiba and Shikamaru watched Naruto, one with thinly veiled anticipation and the other with moderate interest.

"Uh…" Naruto glanced between them, still quite confused. "Yes? How'd you know?"

There was a beat of astonished silence, his friends looking at him with stunned expressions, and Naruto started feeling like he was missing something very big.

"Dude!" Kiba suddenly yelled, getting onto his knees and facing him. "Dude, way to go!"

"What?" Naruto blinked, feeling exceptionally dumb.

"You _do_ know who that is, don't you?!" Kiba said excitedly, slamming his fist onto the cushion next to him. "It's Uchiha Sasuke!"

"Yeah, thank you captain obvious," Naruto said, irritated. "I work for him, so I know his name pretty well."

The other three still watched him like he was an alien.

"I knew you were clueless, Naruto, but this is just insane," Kiba mused.

He scowled at him but was interrupted by Shikamaru as he sighed and put his phone down.

"Take your phone out, Naruto," he said.

Naruto did as he was told, bringing out his phone from his pocket hesitantly.

"Okay…?" He held it out to Shikamaru, looking at him questioningly. "What about it?"

Shikamaru reached out and turned it over so that the back was upside and pointed to a small red and white circle with a silvery '_U_' in the middle of it.

_U?_

"Wait…" Naruto looked back up at his friends with wide eyes. "Are you tying to tell me this is _his_ company?"

"Yeah," Choji said, bringing out his own phone and showing the logo on the back. Kiba eagerly did the same and Shikamaru waved with his as well. "Not just phones either. Computers, TVs, MP3s, practically anything electronic and even cars have something to do with the Uchiha family."

"Wow," Naruto mumbled, staring down at his phone unseeingly.

Sasuke was someone a lot more unattainable than he previously had thought. Not that Naruto thought he could attain anything with him in the first place, but it still made him feel extremely self-conscious all of a sudden. He really needed to work on that crush-thing, didn't he? Otherwise things would start getting out of hand.

"You did good, dude," Kiba laughed, slapping his leg and bringing him out of his musings.

Naruto had to bite his lip in order not to smile as he was reminded of Sasuke's very helpful correction from earlier and refrain from correcting Kiba. Then he remembered; crush-thing. Right. He quickly wiped the smile off his face.

"Maybe he has some hot, single cousin you can hook up with! Or hook me up with!" Kiba continued excitedly and Shikamaru rolled his eyes at him.

"As if," Naruto said and shoved his friend with his foot, smirking a little while Choji chortled. "They'd be way out of your league."

Kiba gave him an indignant grimace and turned back to the game with a huff.

"Just don't hook up with the father," he commented wisely as he unpaused the game again, earning a dirty look from Choji as he got a head start. "Wouldn't that be awkward, right?"

Naruto forced a laugh at that but couldn't help his cheeks warming up. Thankfully, the only one paying enough attention to notice it was Shikamaru and he either didn't see it or was just kind enough to leave Naruto alone.

This could potentially get _very_ tricky.

* * *

**Sorry about the wait! But I hope you like the chapter either way :) Although it's not properly proofread and I can't be bothered at the moment since it's really late, so sorry for that too, haha.**

**Anyway, I hope you liked it! And your comments really make me happy, you're all so nice :D**

**Bye, bye!**


	5. Chapter 5

**05\. Naruto's Weird Behavior and the Entertainment Magazine**

Sasuke glanced at Naruto as they quietly rode the car, frowning slightly at the unusual silence.

He hadn't seen Naruto for a few days – since he had needed to go out of town for some urgent business – and was currently taking him home after finally coming back that night.

Emi had been absolutely ecstatic to be staying at Naruto's place during the time he would be away and had been talking non-stop about all the fun they would have while he drove her to kindergarten the morning he had taken off of work just before leaving –where Naruto would later pick her up and take her home. Usually, Sasuke wouldn't allow Emi to stay anywhere else except at home, but he believed Naruto was capable enough and it would be an easier arrangement than the both of them having to travel back and forth across the city. It had gone quite well, too, although Emi had been eating far too many fruit caramels for Sasuke's liking.

But, for some reason, Naruto was full out being weird.

Ever since he had come back, Naruto wouldn't meet his eyes and was all of a sudden extremely humble, like he was embarrassed. He would stumble over his words whenever they were talking, and he always found one reason or the other to leave the room and go hide in another for the entirety of the late afternoon and evening.

And Sasuke, for the life of him, couldn't figure out why. It wasn't like he had done something to earn this sort of treatment, right?

He had to admit, he missed the usual cheeriness and grins he would usually be subjected to in Naruto's presence, even if it had only been around three days since he last saw it. He realized now how warm they usually made him feel. Well, truthfully, he had already realized it while he was away on the trip.

He cleared his throat awkwardly; trying not to feel embarrassed at the fact that he had been thinking just as much about Naruto as he had been thinking of Emi while he was away. Several times, he had caught himself as his thoughts drifted off to him whenever he had to listen to some boring old man represent his new-but-not-really idea on how to improve something or another within the company or some product.

During all his daydreaming (Sasuke seriously loathed to think he had been doing something as childish as daydreaming, but there was really no other way to put it) he had found that he missed Naruto. The feeling hit him suddenly and took him completely by surprise because the only other person he ever missed was Emi. But he couldn't deny that he was looking forward to seeing him again, to hear him sing and laugh and prattle about everything and nothing, to watch him dance or study or color with Emi or simply just to come home and be greeted by him.

He shook his head slightly. His thoughts were completely running away with him. Again. He sounded like a pining, pubescent teen. Which was not something he felt proud of.

"Naruto-" he sighed when he stopped for a red light but cut off as Naruto jumped. Sasuke gave him a puzzled frown, which was completely overlooked as the other fixed his gaze somewhere above Sasuke's head. "Is something wrong?"

Naruto made the smallest grimace and bit his lip briefly, looking out the window again and at the stoplight. His hair was hiding most of his face and Sasuke just wanted to reach out and brush it away so he could look at him properly. Instead he gripped the steering wheel tighter, not sure he would be allowed to act out his urges, which were weird if he thought about it. Who brushed the hair out of someone-they-weren't-even-that-close-with's face?

"I… well…" Naruto interrupted his thoughts while he seemed to struggle to find the right words. "You're Sasuke Uchiha."

Sasuke's frown deepened and he turned his eyes back to the road as the light turned green.

"Yes, I am," he said slowly, not quite understanding what the shocking revelation was. It wasn't like his name was unknown. His family name appeared at least once a day in some paper or TV show.

"Yeah…" Naruto mumbled and didn't seem to want to elaborate.

"Is there something you find wrong with me?" Sasuke asked after another beat of silence, the question making him feel more worried than it should.

Naruto's head shot up and he finally looked directly at him with wide eyes, although now Sasuke had to focus on the road.

"No!" he hurried to say, quite loudly and Sasuke cringed slightly. "I-I mean," he stammered, "I didn't know…"

"Naruto, if you're going to tell me please do so without all this hedging," Sasuke grumbled, starting to get annoyed by whatever made him incapable of speaking properly.

Naruto cleared his throat, glancing around hesitantly as they slowed to a stop in front of his apartment building and Sasuke turned towards him. Then he dug around in his pocket and Sasuke sincerely hoped he wouldn't bring out his seemingly endless supply of fruit candies – like he always did when Emi had done something good. Where did he even get all of them?

To his surprise he pulled out his – quite ancient – cell phone and Sasuke shot him a confused look. Naruto held it out, showing the back of it to him. He looked down at it, seeing his family's mark on it. It wasn't all that surprising; their line of phones was quite well known and popular, although they certainly had upgraded their latest phones with more modern features. Sasuke didn't even know they still sold phones that looked like small boulders.

"Is there a problem with your phone?" he asked, wondering if Naruto thought he could give him a new one since it was his family's business.

Naruto shook his head.

"My phone's great," he mumbled. "But it's your family's company."

"Yes?" Sasuke agreed questioningly, feeling completely lost.

"Why didn't you tell me before?"

Sasuke simply stared at him.

Naruto couldn't be serious. Not that Sasuke was vain or conceited, but it was quite unlikely the other hadn't ever heard of him as his family and their empire was known worldwide. It should be nearly impossible, especially since he lived in the very same country Sasuke originated from. Their country was quite proud of the Uchiha's advertisement of them as a technologically advanced nation and always had something or another to say about the family in either news or entertainment.

"Why didn't I tell you that I, a person who is quite well known and thus also trusts people even less, was partly owner of a large, world-known company?" Sasuke questioned incredulously. "I don't know, maybe because I got used to people always knowing me?"

Naruto grimaced and looked extremely embarrassed.

"Right. You're right," he mumbled once again avoiding looking directly at Sasuke, which was really starting to bother him. "Okay… good night."

He opened the door and all but flung himself outside. Sasuke stared after him for a second in incredulous silence before he hurried to take off his seat belt and get out of the car to follow him. He really didn't want to let it go like that.

"Naruto!" he called and the other stopped halfway to the entrance. "You really didn't know?"

He turned around, shaking his head.

"No," he answered, looking dejected for whatever reason. Sasuke approached him slowly. "I'm sorry."

Sasuke frowned, trying to ignore the very sudden urge to reach out and touch his cheek gently. He didn't understand what exactly Naruto should be sorry for but he sure as hell hoped it wasn't for acting the way he had been. Sasuke wasn't sure he would like it if Naruto started being unable to look at or talk to him properly. He had come to like the small smiles they would always share at Emi's antics and the conversations they had had in his car as he drove Naruto home on late nights. It gave him peace somehow; to know he had someone he could be friends with, without any ambiguity.

"Don't be sorry," Sasuke told him. Naruto stared down at the ground stubbornly. "I'm just a bit surprised, it's nothing bad."

"Well, I…" he hesitated. "Was a bit out of line."

"When?" Sasuke frowned.

Naruto finally, _finally_ glanced up at him and met his gaze. He seemed to get stuck staring into his eyes, though. Not that Sasuke minded; the blue in Naruto's irises were stunning and he could almost feel a breeze from the sea flow past him. It certainly wasn't a bad feeling.

Then Naruto suddenly gave him a wide grin, although Sasuke couldn't help but think it was a bit forced, and scratched the back of his head bashfully.

"Nah," he said with a shrug. "Nothing. See you."

He gave a small wave and turned back towards the building, leaving Sasuke to stare after him in confusion.

* * *

He really was a moron, Naruto thought as he slumped over his desk while waiting for the lecture hall to fill with students, hitting his forehead against the cool wood softly.

It was empty and silent in the room since he had arrived way to early, but he hadn't been able to sleep at all that night and had tossed and turned as his conversation with Sasuke replayed in his mind. It was making him feel extremely embarrassed because he had almost told the other he had a – not so small – crush on him and now he had no idea of how to face him. Not only had he almost confessed, but he hadn't been able to put his feelings aside and try to be professional either.

And he had tried, so fricking hard, to not let it grow even more after he realized just who Sasuke Uchiha actually was.

But did his heart listen?

Of course not.

Thankfully, Sasuke had gone away on a conference trip for the weekend and Naruto hadn't had to deal with seeing him in person ever since he learned about him from his friends. He had thought he would have been able to handle everything with what little time away from Sasuke he had been granted, that he would have enough time to put it behind him and carry on without much of an incident since the gods appeared to be on his side for once. However, it all hit him again like a rubber band being pulled out and released once Sasuke had entered the door the night before and it hadn't been a pleasant feeling at all. Or well, it _had_ been pleasant. It just wasn't pleasant to know it _shouldn't_ be.

And worst of all?

Sasuke had noticed.

And if Sasuke had noticed what he was trying so very hard not to show (and yes he had been trying extremely hard, but he was an honest person and therefore bad at keeping his emotions and feelings under control) it was just a matter of time before he would realize exactly how Naruto truly felt about him.

He sighed, hitting his head against the table again.

What was he supposed to do if Sasuke would hate him for his feelings? Were rich, well-known people more accepting than normal people? Or were they worse? He had no idea.

Naruto remembered when he had told his friends he was bisexual and had previously had both girlfriends and boyfriends. Some of them were shocked of course, but didn't think much of it. However, a large number of people stopped talking to him because, as they'd said, '_you either like girls or otherwise it's disgusting' _or_ 'I can't be friends with someone who's sleeping with whomever. You can get STD's, you know?'_. It was easy to say he found out who his true friends were in the end and it made him kind of glad that he had been open and honest about his preferences.

But for the first time, Naruto was actually worried what troubles his preference could cause. He didn't want to leave his work; he liked being with Emi and Sasuke too much. It was fun and filled him with warmth and happiness. He knew he was getting way to attached to them, but he couldn't help it.

Still, he was relieved this was his day off. Sasuke had decided to pick Emi up from kindergarten and spend time with her since he had been away so much lately.

"Hey, dude," Kiba's voice suddenly said from somewhere beside him and Naruto turned his head to look at him, resting his cheek against the desk instead. "What's gotten you in such a slump?"

"I'm a moron," Naruto muttered sullenly as an answer and Kiba laughed while dumping his bag on the floor.

"Yes, I know."

Naruto glared at him and turned his head away to watch the now half full lecture hall, ignoring his friend and leaving them in comfortable silence for a moment. Then he frowned as he saw Choji enter at top speed, clutching something in his hand.

"What the-?" Kiba said but cut off as their friend came to an abrupt stop in front of them, his face red and his breath coming out in gasps. "Buddy, are you okay?" he asked in concern.

Choji just shook his head and slammed what had been holding tightly in his hand down on the desk beside Naruto's head, making him jump.

"Have you _seen_ this?" he asked, staring at Naruto with wide eyes.

He frowned at him before looking down at what appeared to be a crumpled magazine.

"What is it?" he asked as both he and Kiba bent over it curiously.

Choji smoothed out the front page for them so they could read what it said.

"It's an entertainment magazine," Kiba answered slowly, sounding disbelieving. "And apparently you're in it."

Naruto's jaw dropped and he quickly picked it up, staring at the front page where he could now clearly see Sasuke facing a blond person with their back to the camera. His stomach dropped and he suddenly felt cold.

"Y-you don't know that for sure," he spluttered nervously. "I-I mean, I can't be the only blond person he knows."

Kiba snatched the magazine from his hands and flipped a few pages, landing on a page filled with photos and speculations. Naruto stared at them in horror, seeing his face in most of them from the times he had gone with Emi and Sasuke to the park or mall. The most recent was of him exiting his apartment building with Emi, and judging by their clothes the picture had been taken just yesterday. He'd had no idea there had been a camera nearby and it sent a shiver down his spine. He quickly glanced around before ducking his head down.

"What the _fuck_ are my pictures in there for?!" he hissed, shielding the side of his face that wasn't turned towards Kiba with his hand. He really wished he had a hoodie right now. Too bad it was too warm to wear one.

"Chill, dude," Kiba said as he scanned the page. "They're just wondering who you are as the journalists believe they have pegged everything about Uchiha down." He laughed triumphantly. "Guess you showed them, huh?"

"I'll show _you_, if you don't put that thing away," Naruto growled under his breath but was ignored as both Choji and Kiba continued reading.

"They're wondering if you're some sort of family friend or a very distant relative," Choji informed him and Kiba snorted.

Naruto groaned and dragged his hands over his face.

"What do I do?!" he whispered harshly. "I can't ever show my face in public again!"

He looked through his fingers at his friends who actually had enough empathy to send him sympathetic looks.

"I'll have to move to the mountains," he realized dazedly. "Become a monk… or a hermit… I'll have to live in celibacy…"

"Like you don't already," Kiba snorted and then groaned as Naruto elbowed him sharply in the ribs with a glare. He returned the favor with a punch to his shoulder and soon they were half wrestling, half fighting with each other.

"One thing I'm wondering, though," Choji suddenly said, making them stop and look at him, "is why they know about you, but not about the previous nanny."

"How do you know that?" Naruto asked.

"Because, if I remember it right, the previous nanny was a woman, right?" Choji said and Naruto nodded. "There would have been all sorts of scandals about that and there never was, so…"

"So maybe this Sasuke Uchiha hasn't been as careful with you as he was with Ino's friend!" Kiba filled in. He hit Naruto's back encouragingly. "Could do you good, buddy! Get famous and whatnot!"

Naruto scowled but refrained from saying anything as their lecturer entered and he turned his attention forward. He just had to keep calm. He was sure no one was going to recognize him or even read that magazine. There was nothing to worry about, he told himself reassuringly.

* * *

"Have you seen this?"

Sasuke sent an irritated look at his brother who had barged into his office and slammed something onto his desk hard enough to make his laptop jolt.

"What?" he snapped, tired from all the numbers he had been staring at and not seeing because he was stuck mulling over Naruto's odd behavior.

Itachi held up whatever was so important so Sasuke could see it. His stomach dropped and his heart skipped a beat as he saw himself on the front page to some know-it-all entertainment – or rather, gossip – magazine. The thing was, he wasn't alone. Naruto was right there in front of him, albeit with his back turned towards the camera.

"You've gotten careless, brother," Itachi said gravely as he opened the magazine to reveal a whole page with photos, some in which you actually could see Naruto's face. "It's fine if you go together during the days to the park or wherever, but nighttime activities? It could start all sorts of rumors if it becomes a reoccurring thing and you know how these '_journalists_' are." His brother sighed and put the magazine down. "Luckily, they were not aware of you driving Naruto home until now since they weren't sure how your car actually looked. But why did you get out of the car? We can't pass you off as an anonymous driver because of it. You _know_ better than that."

Sasuke had nothing to say.

He _did_ know better. He was always so very thorough with where he let himself be seen or not and with whom. But he hadn't really been thinking about it lately, he realized now. He had just been… doing what he wanted without even remembering to look for paparazzi and whatnot. The consequences to his actions had kind of been forgotten, which confused him a little. He _never_ forgot to think about consequences. He'd been doing it his entire life.

He frowned as he picked the magazine up and looked at the pictures and Naruto's bright smiles for a moment. Then he closed it, staring at the front page.

Last night, however, he had been more concerned by Naruto's sudden change in behavior to remember to even keep things like that in the back of his mind.

Dammit.

Sighing, Sasuke threw the magazine onto the desk and rubbed his forehead tiredly.

"I'll go pick him up," Itachi said and Sasuke's head shot up. "You gave him and the driver a day off today, right? However, I don't think he should return home at the moment."

"What? No, it's my fault. I should go," Sasuke argued.

He didn't really know why he was saying it – seeing as he very much wanted to be with Emi after so many late nights and busy weekends – but there was something tugging in his chest that made him feel like he needed to go to Naruto.

Right now.

He must have been influenced by his daughter's earlier worries, because he couldn't help imagining all sorts of bad things happening to Naruto at the moment. And it wasn't even his fault. It was all because of Sasuke, which made him feel even worse.

Itachi looked at him for a moment, as if he was trying to read his mind – which he most probably could. His brother had this weird intuition that never failed him. Then he shook his head.

"You should pick Emi up since you already told her you would. It would make her very sad otherwise," he reasoned. "I'll get Naruto and take him back to your house, okay? You can apologize to him there."

Sasuke met his grave gaze and nodded reluctantly. This day was not starting out well at all.

* * *

Naruto usually liked his appearance. It made him stand out in the crowd, his blond hair always shone in the sea of dark brown, his skin always had a golden hue to it even in the winter and his blue eyes usually sparkled with a light brown eyes couldn't really imitate. He was different and he was proud of it.

Now, however, he was cursing his foreign genes to the deepest pits of hell.

Not only did it make him a beacon for attention, it made him much easier to spot when all he wanted to do was disappear in the crowd. He seriously should consider dyeing his hair, he thought sullenly later that afternoon as he dove into the men's bathroom and locked himself in the most unused stall he could find.

This was all that dumb magazines fault.

Naruto hadn't thought it would spread as fast as it had because he was sure that, unless it was someone who knew him, people wouldn't be able to tell it was him in the picture or be interested even. Of course he had forgotten about the other stupid pictures in the magazine that clearly showed his face and apparently he had _clearly_ underestimated how famous the Uchihas were. It was really starting to dawn on him just how popular and well-known Sasuke actually was.

He just about sat down on the closed lid of the toilet when his phone suddenly rang and he jumped nearly ten feet in the air, his heart beating painfully fast against his ribcage. The media wouldn't be interested enough in him to actually find his number, would they? He wondered as he pulled his phone out of his bag while trying to listen for anyone approaching. He really hoped no one had heard him; he couldn't deal with people asking him a thousand and one questions he really had no answer to. Why would he know what type of cologne Sasuke preferred? And no, he didn't know which gym he went to or even if he went to one at all. And he sure as hell wouldn't give Sasuke's phone number to anyone, even if he would be paid ridiculous amounts of money for it.

"Hello?" he whispered into the receiver when he was sure the ringtone hadn't attracted any attention to his hiding spot.

"Naruto," Sasuke sounded relieved and it made his heart skip a beat for an entire different reason than fear. "Are you okay?"

"I-I… yeah," Naruto answered sheepishly. "You know?"

"Yes," he sighed. "Itachi is going to get you so we can sort this out."

"Right… I'm hiding in the bathroom right now," he mumbled embarrassedly. "I don't think I can go outside unless I dye my hair or something."

"Hn," Sasuke snorted and Naruto frowned.

"Don't laugh!" he complained, although he was smiling slightly. It was crazy how just the sound of Sasuke's voice already made him feel calmer and more like himself. "It's your fault!"

The line went silent and Naruto immediately regretted his words. He could practically hear the troubled frown on the other side.

"I-I mean…" he stuttered. "N-not _your_ fault per se-"

"You're right," Sasuke interrupted him, sounding way too serious and his heart sank. "Itachi should be there now, I'll give him your number."

"Sasu-" Naruto started but stopped as Sasuke suddenly hung up. "Great," he muttered.

It wasn't long until his phone rang again and Itachi told him to leave through the back of the school. Naruto heaved a heavy sigh as he exited the stall and looked at himself in the mirror, pulling at a few strands of his hair dejectedly. Then he took a breath, bracing himself before throwing the door open and making a run for it, forcing students and professors to jump out of the way in fright of being mowed down by his speed. He heard Shikamaru call his name from somewhere behind him, but didn't slow down until he spotted the same silvery mustang that had followed him on his first official day working for Sasuke. He almost barreled into the car but managed to come to a halt just in time to open the door and crash onto the passenger seat instead.

Itachi chuckled at him, clearly amused.

"Rough day?" he asked as he started the car, chortling softly.

Naruto sent him a dissatisfied scowl while he put his seat belt on and tried to catch his breath.

"It was fine at first, since people were just kind of staring at me, but after lunch they started following me around!" Naruto huffed in irritation. "That ridiculous magazine seriously doesn't know what it's talking about either! How famous are you guys anyway?!"

Itachi let out another chuckle.

"Very," he answered simply. "But you're special."

"What?" Naruto frowned, trying not to feel flustered since his thought process went a completely different direction than it should at that comment.

Like imagining himself intertwining his fingers with Sasuke's, snuggling up to him while watching a movie (even if he knew, for a fact, that Sasuke didn't watch movies) and leaving a trail of soft kisses all over his skin.

"Our family has always been very careful with our private lives," Itachi explained and Naruto forced himself to clear his mind of the ridiculous daydreams swimming around in his head. He couldn't help the slight blush spreading across his face, though. "There is nearly nothing except ourselves and those we do business with in every picture, which doesn't give the entertainment journalists much to gossip about. You, however, are the first person ever seen that has no clear connection to our business or family, which makes you very interesting to the media and the general public."

"How do they know I'm not someone in your business!" Naruto asked exasperatedly. "And anyway! I _work_ for Sasuke! I'm not his friend!"

"Deductions made through previous footage and observed interaction." Itachi shrugged. "And you are more involved in Sasuke's personal life than anyone the media has seen earlier, excluding his immediate family of course. Also, I would beg to differ about the friend part."

Naruto stared at him.

It wasn't like he didn't know he hadn't grown closer to the small family made up of Sasuke and Emi. It just never occurred to him that he and Sasuke could be viewed as something other than employee and boss… as friends.

It made his heart flutter in his chest and a small smile tug at his lips. Even if he still had a – now major – crush on Sasuke, he couldn't help feeling happy being recognized as simply a friend. He didn't really need any grand love story or anything; he just wanted to get to know Sasuke better. And he could do that if they could be friends.

"I'm a… friend?" he mumbled to himself, his smile widening a little.

Itachi glanced at him.

"Well, I do wonder…" he muttered as he looked back to the road.

Naruto waited for him to elaborate, but he remained silent.

"You wonder what?" he asked, not able to deny his curiosity.

Itachi smiled.

"My little brother is acting more at ease with you than his childhood friend." He got a thoughtful expression. "And maybe even us, his own family."

"That can't be true," Naruto said softly.

He didn't know much about family, but from what he had seen at his friends' houses, a family was your home, where you could tell them everything and not be afraid of being judged, where you could cry and laugh and yell to your heart's content and still be loved without any conditions. And even though Sasuke must have grown up in a very different environment than what was considered normal, like middle-class, Naruto was sure he had been loved too. The genuine love and care he showed Emi was proof of that.

"I wish," Itachi sighed heavily. "But the more I see him interact with you, or rather just think of you, the more I start to think he has been strangely disconnected from all of us – mother, father and me – for some unknown reason. He actually expresses more genuine feelings than usual, if you exclude when he's with Emi."

"I… haven't noticed…" Naruto mumbled, blushing slightly again.

Itachi snorted.

"Of course you wouldn't," he chuckled. "You only see that side of him, so you can't compare, can you now?"

Naruto mumbled something incomprehensible, which made Itachi smile in amusement and the rest of the trip was spent in silence.

* * *

"Daddy, you can't dance."

Sasuke's head shot up and he stared at his daughter questioningly, but she just continued what she had been doing earlier, which was chasing her fruit loops around her bowl with her spoon.

They had arrived home not long ago and Sasuke had put her at the dinner table with a bowl of fruit loops so she would stay occupied while he was thinking, pacing back and forth.

"What was that, princess?" he asked.

Emi glanced up at him.

"When Na-chan dances, there is music and he does funny moves," she elaborated. "Daddy is just moving from there-" she pointed to where he was standing, "-to there." She moved her hand in a straight line to the left to point a few feet away from him. "And there's no music."

Sasuke frowned but didn't say anything.

He was nervous. The only time he could remember ever feeling nervous before was when he had held Emi in his arms for the first time. He had been so afraid he would drop her or squish her. He didn't know why he was feeling like that now, but ever since he had come up with the thought he was now musing over there had been this weird jittery sensation in his limbs.

All because he had come to the conclusion that letting Naruto move into their house was a good idea.

And really, why wouldn't it be? Emi wouldn't mind in the least and Sasuke… well Sasuke wouldn't mind it that much either. Maybe he would be happy, even. Because his daughter would be.

Yeah.

But he was still uncharacteristically nervous because he had no idea how Naruto would react to the proposition. And judging by the way he had acted last night, there was a good chance he would refuse. So, yes, Sasuke was nervously pacing, wondering what to do and how to persuade Naruto.

The front door opened and Emi's face brightened. She jumped down from her seat to rush out to greet their guests with a happy '_Na-chan!_'.

"I have brought the royal highness," Sasuke heard Itachi inform her politely and Emi giggled.

Sasuke couldn't help the small smile tugging at his lips as he rounded the corner and saw Naruto send his brother a glare while his cheeks turned pink. Itachi merely shrugged and picked Emi up, bouncing her a little in his arms.

"Why do you only greet the queen, and not the noble knight that brought him, my princess?" he asked with a slight pout, making Emi giggle again as they passed Sasuke on their way to the living room, leaving him and Naruto alone.

"Because Na-chan is more important!" They heard Emi explain and Itachi let out an offended huff.

Sasuke shook his head and turned to Naruto, who was still looking at the entrance to the living room, a small, fond smile on his lips. Sasuke's heart did a weird, fluttery thing and the words that he had prepared to say died in his throat.

He had never seen that look on Naruto's face before. He didn't know how to describe it, but it made him feel all sorts of strangely warm and content. Homey even, which was strange, seeing as he was already home.

Clearing his throat awkwardly, he cleared the smile off his face just in time before Naruto looked in his direction, his eyebrows raised in question. Sasuke nodded towards the kitchen and retraced his steps back to take a seat at the dinner table. Naruto followed and sat down across from him, glancing around apprehensively before meeting Sasuke's gaze. They looked at each other for a silent moment before Sasuke sighed, closing his eyes briefly.

"I apologize," he said, a little surprised at the fierce sincerity in his voice. "I-"

"Ah," Naruto interrupted him, "you know I was just joking when I said it was your fault, right?"

"Still," he argued, leaning his forehead in his hand and rubbing it tiredly. He was starting to get a headache. "If I hadn't gotten out of that stupid car it wouldn't have blown up like this. I'm sorry I complicated things for you. Me and my brother will come up with a story for you and direct the media's attention elsewhere."

Warm fingers closed around his wrist and pulled his hand away from his forehead, placing it on the table softly. Sasuke looked up at Naruto's gratefully smiling face and felt his heart do that weird, fluttery thing again.

"It's okay," he said. Sasuke simply stared at him. "You can't be blamed for the greed of that kind of people. So don't apologize, okay?"

Sasuke continued staring at him. Then he noticed how his wrist felt unusually warm and glanced down at Naruto's hand still clasped around it. Naruto followed his gaze and let go immediately, as if Sasuke was contagious or something.

"Sorry," he mumbled, looking embarrassed.

Sasuke raised his eyebrows and they fell silent once again, only the sounds of some cartoon playing on the TV in the living room disrupting the peace between them. Naruto was staring down at the tabletop, his cheeks pink and his lower lip caught between his teeth. Sasuke tilted his head slightly as he watched him, wanting to know what was going through Naruto's head.

Then he remembered he had more important things to talk to Naruto about.

"Do you want to move in here?" he asked softly, the jittery feeling in his limbs starting up again.

Naruto's head snapped up so fast it was a wonder he didn't get any whiplash injuries, and he looked at Sasuke with wide, blue eyes.

"I-I… what?"

"Move in?" Sasuke repeated, commending himself for the calmness in his voice when he really was feeling the opposite. "Live here? Sleep here?"

"Oh…" Naruto returned his gaze to the tabletop to give it a thoughtful look.

"I know it's sudden," Sasuke said. "But I think since you're now on the media's radar it might be easier for you to just live here and not have to worry about hidden cameras or unwanted guests."

Naruto frowned and Sasuke thought he saw him shiver slightly.

"We have several guest rooms," he continued. "You can pick the one you like best. We can send someone to pick up your things tomorrow."

Naruto looked up at him again.

"Oh, no," he said hastily. "You don't need to do that! I can do it myself!"

Sasuke raised his eyebrows.

"I'm not sure that would be wise, seeing as the media will most likely wait for you to return in order to question you," he explained and Naruto grimaced. "But I take it you accept?"

Naruto bit his lip briefly and averted his gaze, looking thoughtful once again. Sasuke had to refrain from pressuring him for the answer and patiently waited for him to come to whatever conclusion he needed.

It really didn't make sense for him to feel this bothered for someone he'd known for just a few weeks, but Sasuke couldn't help feeling he needed to keep Naruto as far away from the eyes of the rest of the world as he possibly could without locking him up. And he most definitely shouldn't want to lock Naruto up either, he thought, feeling troubled. It was like his feelings of protectiveness over Emi, but still different. Only, he didn't know in which way it was different yet.

"Yeah," Naruto suddenly said quietly, breaking him out of his thoughts. "Thank you."

Sasuke had to take a moment to try and remember their conversation properly before he nodded as well and stood up, feeling unnecessarily relieved.

"Okay, good," he said as he made his way across the kitchen to go to the living room and tell Itachi they needed to come up with some sort of cover story. He stopped beside Naruto though and looked down at him. "I really am sorry for this."

Naruto smiled up at him.

"Still not your fault."

Sasuke smiled back.

Living with Naruto couldn't get that complicated, right? It was just for everyone's protection after all – as Itachi put it over dinner later that evening.

Although, Sasuke would quietly admit to himself when he was lying in bed that night, he really thought of it as the protection of Naruto instead of all of them.

And he had no problem with that whatsoever.

* * *

**Hey! Look what I managed to put together! And it's only been what? Two weeks or something? xD**

**Anyhoo, majorly un-edited and not at all proofread but I hope you liked it anyway because it's going somewhere at least, isn't it? I hope so...**

**That's about all I have to say! I'm not really good with words, but see you in the next chapter!**

**Buh-bye!**


	6. Chapter 6

**06\. Feelings, feelings and even more feelings**

An excited squeal woke Naruto the next morning and he sat up, looking around groggily.

"Wha…?" he mumbled and rubbed his eyes. Then he blinked and looked around again.

He was not in his room. The bed he sat in was twice as big as his, the walls were creamy white instead of the bluish color he had at home and the room was entirely too clean. There was no desk chair burdened with a pile of clothes, no open wardrobe with half its drawers pulled out and no course books stacked in the corners.

It took him another moment to remember he was actually in Sasuke's house.

Great.

"Na-chan!"

Naruto's gaze dropped and fell upon Emi, who was staring up at him from over the edge of the bed, her eyes wide and her lips spread in a toothy grin. Naruto let out a small snort at her impossible bed head while she started climbing up onto the bed.

"Good morning, Emi," he said as he leaned over to help her.

She let out a breathy, excited laugh as she fell into his lap and he laughed with her, patting her head to smooth her hair. He would need to brush it thoroughly later.

"Na-chan, daddy said you're staying forever!" she exclaimed happily and righted her self in order to sit properly in his lap.

Naruto's hand faltered and his eyes widened.

"Forever?" his voice cracked. "No – I didn't – we never –"

His spluttering was interrupted by a knock on the door and he looked over to see Sasuke standing in the doorway, fixing the cuffs of his crisp, white shirt – which sent his heart fluttering in his chest. Dammit! Why did he look so good?!

"Emi, I did not say anything of the sort, but I did tell you to calm down," he said before he turned to Naruto, an eyebrow quirked. "I hope you slept well?"

"Yeah…" Naruto said slowly, feeling all too bothered by the three undone buttons in Sasuke's shirt.

Emi turned to her father, bouncing in excitement. Naruto grimaced at the pressure on his knees, although it successfully kept his mind out of the gutter.

"Daddy, daddy, is Na-chan our family now?" she asked. "Is he my brother now?"

Both Sasuke and Naruto looked at her blankly. Then Naruto burst out laughing. Emi gave him a confused look while Sasuke stared at him as if he had lost his mind.

"Oh, baby," Naruto chortled. "Your daddy's old, but not _that_ old."

Emi continued to look confused but Sasuke narrowed his eyes, although Naruto could see the twitch at the corner of his lips.

"There's breakfast downstairs," Sasuke informed. "You should take the day off from school, give things a few days to cool off. I'll take Emi to kindergarten."

Naruto wrinkled his nose then sighed. One day was fine, he reasoned. It was Friday anyway, so that would give the whole thing three days to be forgotten. And he really hoped things would calm down by Monday so he didn't have to hide or dye his hair.

"Fine," he muttered.

Sasuke gave a nod and turned, disappearing from the doorway. Emi stared up at Naruto expectantly and he raised an eyebrow questioningly.

"Na-chan, I wanna stay home with you," she said.

Naruto smiled but shook his head.

"No can do, sweetie," he stroked her hair.

She gave him her best pleading look and he laughed before he launched into a tickling attack, making her squeal with laughter as he gave her stomach a raspberry. Then he released her to gather her in his arms and get out of bed.

"Come on, let's get you ready," he cooed.

"Okay," Emi agreed breathlessly and put her arms around Naruto's neck to bury her face in his shoulder.

He smiled into her now even messier hair and walked them across the hall to her bedroom, where he put her down on her bed. Then he opened her pink closet, tilting his head as he scanned her clothes.

"What do you wanna wear today?" he asked, glancing at her over his shoulder.

"Pajamas!" came the instant reply and Naruto chuckled. He should have known, since that was always the same answer every time, without fail.

"Jeans and t-shirt, then," he decided and smiled at the small huff he received.

* * *

Sasuke was warm. There was a fuzzy, cottony feel growing in his chest at an alarming speed.

And it had absolutely nothing to do with the coffee he was drinking and everything to do with the image of a bleary eyed Naruto with his soft-looking hair standing every which way. He had looked so comfortably inviting Sasuke had actually had the urge to join him and Emi on the bed and just call it a day. Although, if any one ever asked he would insist it was only because his head hurt and he was feeling slightly under the weather – which was true as well.

This was going in a very weird direction.

He bit his lip not to smile but couldn't help the snort that left him. What was he doing?

He cleared his throat and put on his serious, business face as footsteps sounded in the stairs. It wouldn't do to be out of it, daydreaming (Sasuke still hated the term) about lazy days with his daughter and Naruto. He needed to be serious; Itachi was going to arrive soon to pick Emi and him up.

Emi skipped into the kitchen. She had her favorite princess t-shirt on and her hair was pulled into two pigtails. Naruto sauntered in after her, shooting a small smile at Sasuke who couldn't care less when his business face melted into an answering tug of his lips. Screw Itachi.

"Emi, you have to eat quickly or we'll be late," Sasuke said as the two of them took their seats by the already set table.

Emi grimaced but dutifully grabbed the box of cereal to pour in her bowl, mumbling unintelligibly. Sasuke was quite proud when she managed to get every single fruit loop inside the bowl without any bouncing off the sides.

"Hey grumpy," Naruto chided playfully and pinched her cheek. "I'll make something good for you when you come home, so you have to go to kindergarten, understood?"

Emi brightened up immediately and Sasuke shook his head while he rubbed his temple, his previous headache making itself known again. He would need to have a talk with her about how easily bribed she was. And he needed to speak to Naruto about keeping the sugar intake at an acceptable level.

The rest of their breakfast consisted of Emi listing food and pastries she would like to eat and Naruto diligently took notes, nodding and humming. That cottony warmth filled Sasuke's chest again and the word _peaceful_ crossed his mind.

Then, Itachi honked his horn and Sasuke startled. So much for peace.

"Come on, Emi," he sighed. "Time to go."

Emi put her spoon down and gave Naruto a pleading look. Sasuke kind of wished he could do the same, but refrained. Naruto only laughed before picking her up and setting her on his hip.

"You heard your father," he said and bopped her nose.

Sasuke moved to take the dishes off the table but Naruto waved a hand at him.

"'S okay, I can do it," he smiled. "I'm not going anywhere today anyway."

"But, I didn't hire you to be a butler," Sasuke protested and Naruto rolled his eyes. He only let Naruto do house chores when he had to leave for work early or came home late.

"I know, but I'm gonna live here too for a while so I should do my part, right?" He shrugged and looked at Emi. "Let's get your backpack, sweetie. And you should go get your work stuff," Naruto tossed at him over his shoulder as he left the kitchen, Emi's arms clutching almost desperately around his neck.

It took a moment for Sasuke to move, the hand he had reached out to take Emi's bowl falling back to his side while a feeling of content – well, more like the feeling of being a domestic family – spread through him. It was ridiculous, really. It had only been, what? One night? And Sasuke already felt as if this was supposed to be forever.

Maybe Emi had had a point.

He had never been one for domestic life, but right then and there he was sure he could get used to this; waking Naruto up together with Emi, being at the breakfast table together since their schedules would match better while they lived in the same house, and always knowing there would be someone other in the house to talk to than a four-year-old.

Itachi was right; he should cherish his blooming friendship with Naruto, Sasuke thought as he and Emi waved at him before they entered the car. Another very domestic thing Sasuke wanted to get used to.

Itachi gave him a curious look as he took his place in the passenger seat but said nothing, a secret smile spreading on his lips. Sasuke wasn't sure what the smile meant, or if it was just there because of Emi's chatter about all the pastries and food Naruto was going to make for her, but it might have had to do with the fact he still didn't have his business face on.

* * *

Naruto closed the front door and let out a shaky breath, leaning his forehead against the cool wood.

Goddamn Sasuke!

He didn't know if it was on purpose or not, but ever since yesterday Sasuke had seemed softer. Or maybe Naruto was letting Itachi's words get to him. He didn't know what, but he _did_ know that Sasuke had had a warm, fond smile on his face nearly the entire breakfast. And the worst (best) part of it? It wasn't only directed at Emi.

Naruto couldn't help the giddy smile spreading on his lips.

Not that he thought Sasuke returned his feelings – which he couldn't even if he wanted to, since he didn't know about them – but because of the homey feeling it inflicted in Naruto. He had never felt like he belonged this much with anyone as he did with Sasuke and Emi and even Itachi. They already felt like the family he'd never had. The orphanage had been a poor substitute, even though he had loved all the kids he had gotten to know, and even Gaara – who had been the closest friend he'd ever had – never really filled the hole his own mother and father had left, even if he had never known them.

He hummed to himself as he made his way back to the kitchen, cleaning the table and loading the dishwasher, feeling unusually domestic. Not that he hadn't done chores before; he had cooked food for Emi and Sasuke a few times and even prepared breakfast. But this was different since he was living in the house now and wouldn't leave for school or home.

He was making it a much bigger issue than it needed to be, but he couldn't care less. He wanted to get used to this – living with Sasuke and Emi.

And it scared him a little. Because what if Sasuke decided Emi didn't need a caretaker anymore? Or she grew up enough to handle herself? What would happen then? Would they simply bid their goodbyes and never see each other again? Naruto was too invested in both Emi and Sasuke at the moment to be able to cut all ties.

Sighing, he went back upstairs to take a shower. He was interrupted, however, as the muffled sound of his phone floated into the hallway and he frowned. He hurried back to his room, frantically searching for the device and found it in the back pocket of the jeans he had worn the day before.

"Hello?" he answered breathlessly.

"Naruto!" Itachi greeted cheerfully. "Are you by any chance free at the moment?"

Naruto snorted and there was another voice in the background, muttering grumpily.

"Yeah… weren't you and Sasuke the ones who put me under house arrest for today?" he asked.

"I'm appalled you think we'd hold you hostage," Itachi chuckled. "Anyway, it seems my _dearest_ baby brother has forgotten where he put some very important papers we need for this afternoon. If you could be ever so kind and go look in his office, I would be much obliged, your highness."

Naruto let out a suffering sigh at the teasing tone.

"Are you ever gonna stop calling me that?" he grumbled as he exited his room and made his way down to the end of the hallway, where he knew Sasuke's office was.

"Hm," Itachi hummed thoughtfully. "I haven't decided."

Naruto rolled his eyes while his hand paused for a moment as it fell on the door handle. He had never been inside and he wasn't sure Sasuke was so keen on letting him see whatever he was working with. What if it was confidential? He was co-owner of an entire technological empire after all.

"Did Sasuke say I could enter his office?" Naruto wondered. "I don't want to overstep boundaries or something."

He could practically hear the eye roll on the other end of the line and a muttered '_here_'. The line crackled as he assumed the phone travelled form one hand to the other and then Naruto's heart did a little dance.

"Hello? Naruto?" Sasuke asked.

"Uh," he cleared his throat, not at all prepared to speak to the other. "Yeah, hi…"

Sasuke let out a small chuckle and suddenly Naruto was very warm. He clutched the phone tighter as a grin spread on his face again.

"You know my office?" Sasuke asked.

Naruto nodded before he remembered the other couldn't see him and hummed instead since he didn't trust his voice to not completely betray how giddy he felt.

"I think some papers with charts and names might be on my desk in there, could you look?"

"Sure." He bit his lip as his voice came out breathless and happy.

Thankfully, Sasuke seemed not to notice and Naruto sure as hell wasn't going to mention anything so he determinedly opened the door, forcing his embarrassment away.

Sasuke's office was – unsurprisingly – tidy. The desk to the left had neatly stacked papers placed squarely in one corner and a laptop centered in front of a comfortable looking armchair. A few post-its were stuck to the pin board hanging above the desk with names, numbers, and dates. There were pictures of Emi pinned to the board as well, showing her as she ran around the yard with a ball, sat laughing on Itachi's shoulders as they weaved through a crowd in a market, covered in flour with a laughing Sakura in the background, sitting beside an older woman on a double swing hanging from an apple tree with a man pushing them. And then there was one where she was asleep, curled up on Sasuke's lap with her thumb in her mouth. She couldn't have been more than two years old and Sasuke's gaze was soft as he looked down at her, his arms circling her tiny body protectively.

Naruto didn't notice he was grinning widely until his cheeks started straining and he cleared his throat, his gaze shifting to the numerous other pictures of Emi and many of her creative drawings taped to the walls.

"Naruto?" Sasuke asked and he jumped. He had completely forgotten he was still on the phone.

"Yeah?"

"Did you find them?"

"Uh, just a moment." He shuffled some papers around. "Charts and names you said?"

"Yeah, the charts should be for the months of May through July and the name list should be attached to them."

Naruto spotted the mentioned papers and made a triumphant noise.

"Found them!" he said cheerily. "D'you want me to go leave them at your company?"

"No, it's fine," Sasuke said and Naruto felt a little disappointed. He couldn't deny he was curious about where Sasuke worked. "Itachi will go get them once he's dropped me off. I have a few clients to meet."

"Oh, okay…" Naruto put the papers he had disturbed back in order. "Well… See you tonight, I guess."

There was a pause and Naruto raised his eyebrows at a pouty Emi in the picture in front of him.

"Yeah," Sasuke answered, suddenly very quiet but it sounded as if he was smiling. "See you tonight."

All Naruto managed to do was smile goofily before Sasuke hung up.

* * *

Sasuke smiled down at the phone in his hand, lost in the warmth, which was once again spreading through his entire body. It wasn't until Itachi cleared his throat loudly that he looked up to see his brother throw him a pointed but amused look. Sasuke quickly schooled his expression and handed him the phone. Thankfully the rest of the ride was spent quietly as Emi for once was in her own little world in the backseat – most likely imagining whatever Naruto was making for her – and Itachi seemed to decide not to mention anything.

Until they dropped Emi off. Of course Sasuke shouldn't have expected anything else.

"Are my eyes deceiving me or did you actually look like a love-struck teenager who was on the phone with their crush?" Itachi was chortling as Sasuke returned to his seat after having walked Emi to the door of the daycare. "Oh, this is priceless."

Sasuke scowled at him.

"Excuse me?"

"Sasuke, my dear brother, I think you are getting yourself into unknown territory," Itachi cackled as he pulled away from the sidewalk. "I know Naruto was getting close to you, but _this_ close? I never knew you could look like that. And not to mention, you forgot important papers! Is hell freezing over?"

"I have no idea what kind of messed up fantasy you've conjured up in your head," Sasuke growled. "But I would like for you to refrain from doing anything to Naruto."

Itachi laughed harder.

"Oh, believe me," he said between breaths, "At this rate I won't have to do anything. This machine is oiled enough to run itself."

Itachi started laughing again.

"You're insane," Sasuke grumbled and decided to ignore his brother by looking out the window.

Itachi continued to chuckle every now and then for the rest of the ride while Sasuke glared out at the passing buildings, trying to ignore the embarrassment creeping up his cheeks.

Because, Itachi might not be so far off after all.

It only occurred to him this morning that the things he had been feeling around Naruto were way stronger than he had felt for anyone before. Because, honestly, Naruto had made him _daydream_ about him, twice, and if that wasn't a tell tale, Sasuke didn't know what was. The first time he'd brushed it off as just being unused having a close friend around all the time, because by now he considered Naruto to be quite close, but this morning Sasuke had actually considered snuggling up in bed with him (and Emi), and Sasuke had never _ever_ snuggled.

Then there was that fluttering his heart had done as well, and the content of having Naruto close, and the warmth and the all around happiness he was experiencing.

This was getting bad. And the more he thought about it, the more he realized what he was feeling, the worse it got.

What was the proper conduct for this kind of situation, even? Was Sasuke considered Naruto's boss? Or were they friends? Sasuke would like to think of them as friends.

That hugged.

And maybe kissed.

And… what?

Sasuke groaned in exasperation and Itachi shot him a curious look. He continued to ignore him.

Besides, did Naruto even feel any attraction towards him? Sasuke was good looking, he knew that, but it didn't mean every single person on the planet would be attracted to him. Sure, he had been blushing a few times when they had locked eyes and he had been smiling and staring at Sasuke quite often, but that didn't mean he was attracted… right?

Sasuke wanted to bang his head against the window.

"This is highly amusing," Itachi chuckled and Sasuke could only let out a resigned sigh.

* * *

**Hey guys! I'm so sorry for my absence! I haven't even had the time to answer comments, and yeah... sorry... I'll go do that as soon as I post this!**

**I might've mentioned this before, but I have a lot going on so it might take a while between chapters, but I _will_ finish the story! It's all there in my head, I just need to put it into words and it takes time.**

**Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this chapter even if it isn't proofread and filled with mistakes.**

**See you in the next chapter!**

**Bye!**


	7. Chapter 7

**07\. Threats and Fevers**

Naruto didn't know how Itachi had managed to talk him into coming with him, but he found himself following him out the door and taking a seat in his car, with the papers Sasuke had asked for protected in a manila folder resting on his lap. Itachi had a secretive smirk on his lips and it made Naruto feel all sorts of uneasy since he wasn't sure the other was plotting murder or just plainly being a creep. Or maybe he was doing both.

"So, why am I going with you again?" Naruto asked once they had left the finer neighborhoods behind and were speeding down the highway leading to the city center.

Itachi shrugged innocently. Naruto didn't believe it for a second.

"You said it yourself," Itachi answered after a second of silence. "You were under house arrest."

Naruto only shook his head, but settled into the seat more comfortably and looked out the window.

"Also," Itachi continued, "I think Sasuke wouldn't mind seeing you."

Naruto raised his eyebrows at the passing scenery.

"We saw each other like two hours ago, though," he mumbled, although he definitely wouldn't mind being with Sasuke all day.

"You think I don't know?" Itachi said, voice suddenly deadly low and serious.

Naruto started and turned to him with wide eyes.

"W-what?" he stammered.

"I am neither blind nor stupid," Itachi glanced at him, the usual amused and teasing glint in his eyes replaced by a hard, cold shine. A shiver went down Naruto's spine. "I see what is happening between you and my brother, and I want you to know that if you aren't serious and if you prove to be a lying, scheming prick who's aiming to hurt either Sasuke or Emi, I will end you."

"I-I d-don't-"

"I believe you are a good person, Naruto," Itachi interrupted him. "But I have been proven wrong before and I'm simply warning you – do wrong by either my brother or my niece and everything in your life will forever stay at its worst."

Naruto stared at him, opening and closing his mouth but not finding words. Then, as if a switch was pressed, Itachi's face melted into a grin and he glanced at Naruto again.

"Glad that's over with," he said cheerily. "Now, do you want to hear embarrassing stories about my adorable baby brother?"

Naruto gaped.

"I – you – what?" he spluttered. "Itachi, hold up and rewind."

Itachi smiled in amusement.

"I would never, _ever_ dream of hurting Emi and Sasuke," Naruto said heatedly. "I love them as if they were my own family! I'm actually afraid of what's gonna happen when _they_ don't need _me_ anymore! I won't leave them unless they want me to and I will protect them as much as I can as long as they want me and even after we've parted ways!"

Itachi's smile softened, as did his gaze when he looked over at him. Naruto was panting by now and he could feel an angry blush spreading up his neck and warming his cheeks. How dare Itachi think he would be such a scumbag?!

"I know," Itachi said softly. "But Sasuke and Emi come first, so I have to warn you. And like I said, I have been fooled before and it maddens me something extreme."

"Okay," Naruto huffed. "Yeah, I get it."

Itachi smiled again.

"So…" he said slowly. "You love my brother?"

If Naruto's face wasn't red before, it now shone like a stoplight.

"Shut up," he snapped and turned away.

Itachi merely laughed at his discomfort.

* * *

A knock on the door was all the warning Sasuke got before his father unceremoniously swung it open and stepped inside, his only greeting a gruff '_Hello, son_'.

Sasuke tried not to sigh as he put down his fountain pen and pushed his laptop aside, arranging the papers he had been jotting down notes on in a neat pile. He already had quite a bad headache; he didn't need his father prying in his business. Itachi was already doing a great job of that.

"Father," he greeted and rubbed his temples. He was a little worried he might be coming down with migraine, as the headache had been present for almost a week. "Is there a problem?"

His father raised his eyebrows at him and sat down in one of the two guest chairs on the other side of Sasuke's desk.

"Does there have to be a problem for me to come see you?" his father asked. "I'm simply stopping by. I was wondering if perhaps you and Itachi would like to grab lunch with me and discuss the annual family barbeque. Your mother expects you to be there."

Sasuke hummed distractedly as his eyes fell upon a transaction he wasn't sure he had supervised and his father sighed.

"Sasuke, are you listening?" he asked.

Sasuke threw a brief look at him.

"Of course, father," he replied smoothly. "Itachi's not here at the moment, though. He had to go back to my house to retrieve some papers I had forgotten."

His father blinked at him.

"Oh?" he said slowly, almost sounding uncertain, which made Sasuke frown. His father cleared his throat. "Well, it doesn't matter. I can wait."

"He should be here in a few minutes, actually," Sasuke offered distractedly.

His father nodded and made himself more comfortable in the chair, his gaze sweeping over the walls and bookcases of Sasuke's office. Sasuke returned to controlling the month's transactions, but gave up with a sigh and glanced at the clock on his wall.

Was it only half past twelve? He just wanted to go home and lay down in bed. His head was stuffy and he was starting to feel warm all over. Maybe he had caught something from Emi or the daycare? Emi's teacher had called earlier and said she was running a slight fever, asking Sasuke to pick her up as soon as he could.

"Shouldn't you decorate in here a little more?" his father asked suddenly.

Sasuke tried not to roll his eyes as he looked at him and then glanced around at the empty walls and the bookcases with binders upon binders of documents.

"Why?" he asked.

"You spend a lot of time in this room," his father answered. "One would think there would be a little more personal effects here and there. Or a plant in the corner at least."

Sasuke shrugged.

"I'm here to do work, not to be distracted," he muttered.

His father raised his eyebrows but said nothing. Which was as well since Itachi swung the door open seconds later, making a grand entry and a complete fool of himself.

"Little brother, I come bearing gifts," he announced brightly, increasing Sasuke's headache.

Their father let out a heavy sigh as he turned to look at his eldest son. Itachi blinked at him, his steps faltering the slightest.

"Father," he greeted. "I didn't know you'd be here." He glanced behind him and a smirk pulled at his lips. "It's all good, though."

Sasuke frowned and barely refrained from making a strangled noise when Naruto stepped over the threshold, curious eyes glancing around. Sasuke still hadn't had the time to come to terms with the fantasies that kept popping into his head about the two of them in a more… _intimate_ setting, and this was certainly not helping his case – except that maybe he forgot all about his stuffy head as it went completely blank.

"And who might this be?" his father asked, standing up to greet Naruto.

Naruto smiled a little, stepping forward to greet him.

"Hello, I'm Naruto," he introduced himself.

His father took Naruto's outstretched hand and shook it.

"Ah," he said, casting a confused glance back at Sasuke. "You're Emi's caretaker. I'm Fugaku, Itachi and Sasuke's father."

Naruto's smile widened.

"It's nice to meet you," he said amicably.

Then his gaze shifted and fell upon Sasuke. And maybe the light was playing tricks on him or maybe it was his headache doing something to his brain, but he thought he saw Naruto's expression soften in a way that was not platonic. The moment disappeared as Naruto held up a manila envelope, waving a little.

"I have those documents you forgot," he said and Sasuke managed to collect himself enough to give him a grateful nod.

"You didn't have to come all this way," he said.

Naruto wrinkled his nose, throwing Itachi an annoyed look.

"I know, but your _dear_ brother couldn't seem to do this on his own. Am I supposed to babysit him too?" he muttered. Sasuke had to smile at the offended look on Itachi's face. Even his father's lips twitched. "Anyway, since I'm here I can ask you!" Naruto continued, completely disregarding Itachi's indignant scoff. "What do you want me to make for you?"

Sasuke blinked at him in confusion and his father and brother raised their eyebrows.

"Make for me?" he asked. "What do you mean?"

Naruto smiled.

"I mean, since I'm gonna make something Emi likes for dinner I might as well make something you like, right?" he explained. "I don't have anything better to do today anyway, since I can't go to my apartment and get my stuff."

"Oh…" Sasuke said slowly, looking to the side in thought. "I guess… if you want to, I would like some hamburgers. If you can make them?"

Naruto let out a laugh and Sasuke looked at him questioningly. Itachi was staring at him, as was his father, but he ignored them in favor frowning at Naruto.

"What?"

"No, it's just," he chuckled, "Emi wanted the same thing. I guess you are father and daughter, after all."

Sasuke chuckled a little as well.

"Yeah."

Itachi smiled but didn't say anything. Then his father looked at Naruto, interest shining in his eyes.

"Tell me, Naruto," he asked, "would you like to have lunch with us?"

Sasuke could practically see the gears turning in Itachi's head as a slow smirk pulled at his lips and he would do anything to spare both Naruto and himself the devious plan his brother was clearly concocting at the moment. He knew Itachi would take this chance to test out his theories – which weren't completely groundless even though Sasuke wouldn't admit it – and he'd rather not be embarrassed by his brother in front of his father and Naruto.

Thankfully, he knew just how to avoid that. And his plan would succeed judging by the reluctant look Naruto threw Itachi.

"Actually," he said and they all looked at him. He kept his eyes on Naruto. "Emi's teacher called and told me she feels sick and needs to go home. I would need Naruto to take care of her."

Both understanding and worry glinted in Naruto's eyes as he nodded quickly.

"Is she okay?" he asked. "She's not running a fever?"

"Just a little at the moment," Sasuke answered and stood. "I'll drive you, since I gave the driver a day off."

He pretended not to see the look his father and brother exchanged (he knew they were wondering why he didn't just call another driver) and grabbed Naruto's shoulder on the way, pushing him in front while silently having a mini freak out he was actually touching Naruto.

"I'll be back in two hours, you can go eat lunch without me," he tossed over his shoulder at them as he led Naruto to the elevators, thanking every higher power he had been brought up to have a good pokerface.

Naruto gave him an amused grin once the doors of the elevator slid closed behind them, laughing quietly. Sasuke narrowed his eyes at him, trying not to think about how they were completely alone in a small space at the moment – which, of course, definitely hadn't been one of his fantasies – and that Naruto looked warm and soft and inviting in the low light of the elevator.

"What?" he asked. "I have a headache and I'd rather be with you and Emi during my lunch than father and Itachi."

Naruto's grin disappeared and he came closer, too close for comfort, putting a cool hand to his forehead with a frown.

"Are you coming down with something too?" he murmured.

Sasuke stared at him, swallowing hard and couldn't quite decide if he should soak in the body heat from Naruto or try and put some distance between them.

Naruto met his gaze and his eyes widened briefly. Then he was gone, putting an acceptable distance between them again and leaving Sasuke cold and disappointed.

"Uh… sorry," he muttered and Sasuke blinked at him. "I'm used to doing that with friends and the kids…"

The kids? Sasuke wondered but said nothing as they arrived in the garage and Naruto quickly stepped out of the elevator.

Sasuke suddenly really wished he had the courage to pull him back in as close as he had been before. Maybe even closer, so he could feel all that warmth and comfort properly.

Which was a completely new urge for him, as he never hugged or cuddled anyone, let alone letting them comfort him. Ever.

Except for Emi that is, but she was special.

Naruto, however, should not be.

* * *

Naruto tucked Emi in as snugly as he could, smiling a little at her open mouth and her half pulled out pigtails, hair sticking out every which way.

She had fallen asleep in the car, her fever higher than they had thought, and Naruto had insisted on carrying her to her room since Sasuke hadn't looked all too well either. It seemed that the further he got from his workplace, the worse his headache became. Naruto thought it had something to do with letting go of the stress and focusing on Emi instead.

He pulled Emi's rubber bands out with gentle fingers, kissed her forehead softly and caressed her hair once before standing up to return to Sasuke, who he had left in the living room, and see how he was doing, leaving Emi's door open just a crack.

He found Sasuke sprawled out on the couch in the living room, dozing off, one arm thrown over his eyes and the other hanging off the edge. He sighed before approaching him and – after a moment of hesitation – putting a hand on his shoulder. He still hadn't been able to shake that jittery and giddy feeling of being close to Sasuke in the elevator and staying so close to him again really wasn't helping, but he had to take care of him since he seemed to be well on his way to get a fever as well.

Sasuke started, arm lowering to reveal alarmed eyes, which softened once he realized it was Naruto standing over him.

"I don't think you should go back to work," Naruto murmured.

Sasuke sat up and shook his head.

"No, no," he protested. "I'm fine. I just-"

Naruto interrupted him by putting a hand to his forehead again to check his temperature, not caring this time that he was so close and could practically pull Sasuke into a protective hug and never let him leave.

"I think either Emi gave you a bug or you gave her one," he said. "Either way, both of you are sick and should stay home."

Sasuke frowned and looked like he wanted to protest again but Naruto ignored him in favor of grabbing his arm and pulling him to his feet.

"Right, off to bed," he murmured, forcing himself not to feel any kind of non-platonic feelings because of how close they were.

Sasuke remained silent and Naruto's hand slid down to grab his. He tired not to overthink every single action. He had held hands with countless people, his friends, lovers, and kids at the orphanage. If Sasuke asked he could simply explain that it was something he always did with practically everyone, which wasn't completely untrue. Although he still didn't dare look back at him as he pulled him along, up the stairs and to his bedroom.

And Naruto might be imagining things, but had Sasuke actually squeezed his hand gently? He didn't dare think too much into it. It could have just been some reflex.

He pushed Sasuke to the bed and hurriedly took a few steps back. Sasuke sat down, watching him questioningly.

"Change and get under the covers," Naruto ordered, looking at a point somewhere just above Sasuke's head. "I'll go get you something to drink. D'you still have a headache?"

Sasuke nodded.

"Okay," Naruto said, backing away again. "I'll be right back."

He did his best to not look like he was bolting from the room and hurried downstairs after stopping by Emi's room to check on her again. It took him a while, but he found some effervescent tablets in the kitchen's aid cupboard and filled two glasses with water, dropping the tablet into one and watching it fizz into nothing. He wrinkled his nose. He'd never been fond of those kinds of tablets and he was glad he wasn't the one drinking it.

He brought the two glasses back up with him and found Sasuke dozing off again.

He smiled a little.

Sasuke's face looked so calm and soft. Naruto had never thought about it before, but Sasuke always seemed to be in deep thoughts and in motion, working almost around the clock except for the few hours he spared to be with Emi or sleeping.

Looking at him now, however, he could see another relaxed side to the man and it was beautiful. His black hair was ruffled from changing clothes and his lips were parted the slightest, heavy breaths leaving in-between them. His limbs were sprawled everywhere, which had Naruto laughing quietly, although it made him look warm and inviting as well, and he could imagine cuddling up beside him and having trouble to fit because Sasuke took up so much space lying like that. But then Sasuke would realize Naruto was there and scoot over to give him space before pulling him into his arms. And then he would press a kiss to the crown of his head, his cheek, his lips, his exploring fingers would leave tingles as they made their way down-

Naruto felt his entire body go warm and he cleared his throat quietly, willing his mind out of the gutter. He put the two glasses on the bedside table and gently shook Sasuke's shoulder, who opened bleary dark eyes, looking disoriented.

"I fell asleep?" he mumbled groggily and sat up.

"Yeah," Naruto answered softly. "I guess everything hit you pretty hard once you relaxed. Don't you think you should take a few days off work?"

Sasuke shook his head and groaned, pressing the heel of his hand to his forehead.

"I'm already behind since I forgot those documents today," he muttered sullenly. "And I think too much… fantasies… I can't seem to concentrate anymore."

Naruto frowned but decided Sasuke wasn't completely conscious, so he shouldn't pry too much. Instead, he picked up the glass with the medicine and handed it to the other. Sasuke took it and downed half of the liquid before choking, a grimace scrunching up his face.

"This tastes like medicine," he complained hoarsely.

Naruto raised an eyebrow, unimpressed.

"That's because it is," he muttered.

Sasuke wrinkled his nose, but didn't protest and drank the rest of it before falling back onto the pillows, closing his eyes with a soft sigh.

"You could have given me a warning," he mumbled sleepily.

"Uh-huh," Naruto answered distantly, taking the glass from his hands. "There's a glass of water here if you need it, okay?" he said and Sasuke gave a weak nod.

Naruto resisted the urge to caress his hair – much like he had with Emi, but still so very different – and made his way out of the room again. However, Sasuke's voice stopped him in the doorway.

"Thank you," he said quietly.

Naruto smiled although he couldn't see it as his eyes were closed again.

"Don't mention it," he murmured before closing the door.

* * *

**Hey! Merry Christmas you guys! I'm sorry I haven't had the time to answer any comments but I just read all of them and thank you all soo much! I'm seriously grinning like an idiot! I'll try and answer you this time! :)**

**Anyway, I hope you like this chapter because it's going somewhere at least! Don't you think?**

**So, yeah! Just wanted to say Merry Christmas and also Happy New Year!**

**See you in the next chapter!**

**Bye!**


	8. Chapter 8

**08\. Conspiracy Theories and a Security Breach**

"Na-chan."

The groggy mumble from behind Naruto froze him in his tracks and he turned back to Emi, who was now sitting up in bed, blinking at him blearily, her hair on end. She looked so much like her father had done the previous night he couldn't suppress his smile.

He had woken up two hours ago, both father and daughter still sleeping soundly, exhaustion caused by their fevers knocking them out cold. Naruto had had nothing better to do than amuse himself with flipping through channels lazily once he'd eaten breakfast before he noticed it was nearly noon and went to check on Emi. He hadn't meant to disturb her sleep, though.

"I'm sorry," he murmured. "Did I wake you up?"

Emi rubbed her eyes and shook her head. Then she reached out her arms, making grabby hands at him. He chuckled at her neediness but retraced his steps to pick her up. She snuggled her face into the crook of his neck and the warmth of her skin worried him a little. If it went any higher they would need to take her to the doctor.

He picked up the quilt he had put over Emi's cover for extra warmth last night and wrapped it around her before hugging her closer to keep her warm.

"Do you want to eat something?" he asked softly as he took them out of the room and downstairs.

"Cupcakes," Emi mumbled. "Like the ponies."

Naruto frowned, unsure if she was still half asleep or just delirious. He settled for toast with strawberry jam and a cup of hot chocolate as her breakfast. Emi refused to let him put her down so he had to balance her while preparing everything. She seemed to wake up a little at the smell of hot chocolate and raised her head as Naruto put the steaming cup on the already set table. He was about to put her down when she patted his cheek for attention.

"I wanna watch cartoons," she announced.

"Okay then," he agreed. "But I'm gonna have to put you down on the couch to be able to bring everything with me, in that case."

Emi pouted a little but didn't object. Naruto shook his head at her, but couldn't help the fond smile spreading on his lips as she crawled onto his lap once he had put down the tray, on which he had loaded her breakfast, and pulled the coffee table closer so she could eat.

They sat watching cartoon after cartoon, both of them too lazy to do much else. Emi dozed off again after a while, snuggled into his chest, and he hugged her closer, planting a soft kiss to her hair and pulling the quilt tighter around her.

He looked down at her as she let out an almost snore and was suddenly overcome with how much she had come to mean to him so quickly. He couldn't imagine leaving her and never seeing her again, which he most likely would have to someday.

His arms tightened around her briefly as his heart stuttered.

It had been almost two and a half months, and yet he didn't know how he had ever gone without this feeling of being in the right place, of belonging. Neither did he know what he would do when all of this was over. How would he ever find someone who meant as much to him as both Sasuke and Emi had come to do?

Feet shuffled down the stairs and Sasuke appeared in the doorway, sniffling through his stuffed nose. His hair was even messier than last night and Naruto would have laughed at his disheveled state if Emi hadn't been asleep at the moment. He had never seen Sasuke so out of sorts. It was quite endearing.

Then his eyes zeroed in on his bare feet, nearly hidden underneath his pajama pants and sighed. At least Sasuke had put on a hoodie over his t-shirt.

"No wonder your nose is stuffed," he muttered.

"What?" Sasuke croaked as he dragged his feet over to the couch.

"You should have put on socks, you know," Naruto told him as he dropped onto the couch beside him. "There's a reason people wear more clothes when they're sick."

Sasuke shrugged, staring blankly at the – now mute – TV. He looked as if he was still half asleep, his eyes glazed and movements sluggish.

"You're not gonna ask me to carry you around too, are you?" Naruto asked, not able to keep the teasing tone out of his voice.

Sasuke gave him an '_are-you-insane?'-_look and Naruto chuckled. Then his eyes fell upon the tray on the table and Naruto wondered if he should have asked for permission before eating in the living room. But Sasuke merely raised his eyebrows before rubbing his face.

"I should be at work," he muttered. "This is ridiculous! Just because it's the first time ever since I was a kid I get sick doesn't mean Itachi needs to do everything! I can work too!"

As if what Sasuke had said was a summoning spell, keys rattled in the door and Itachi entered with a cheerful '_Hello!'_. Both Naruto and Sasuke grimaced at each other before schooling their expressions as Itachi appeared in the living room. He paused in the doorway, watching them for a moment with a tilted head. Then he pulled his phone out.

Before Naruto had the time to question him, he heard the unmistakable sound of a camera shutter go off and blinked in confusion.

"Oh, it came out nicely," Itachi said as he slid his phone back into his pocket.

"What?" Naruto spluttered and looked at Sasuke who seemed too exhausted by his little outburst to even care. "Itachi, delete that now, please!"

Itachi raised his eyebrows at the order.

"Nah," he wrinkled his nose. "I'll print it and put it in Sasuke's office." Sasuke sighed heavily and Itachi continued, completely ignoring him. "Father did tell me he needed to decorate."

Naruto was about to protest, but Emi stirred at the noise of their voices and squinted up at Itachi, who gave a soft smile back at her. She perked up when she realized it was her uncle.

"Tachi," she mumbled happily as she sat up straighter.

"Hello, princess," Itachi greeted. "Which adventures have you been on to contract such a nasty illness?"

Emi giggled.

"Me and Kousuke played in the pond," she answered, bouncing excitedly. "There's a pirate treasure there!"

"So that's how you got sick?" Naruto groaned.

Emi stilled and glanced between him and Sasuke, ashamed.

"Emi, it's nearly autumn and it's getting colder," Sasuke reprimanded his daughter tiredly. "Please refrain from doing that."

She squirmed guiltily and mumbled an apology, settling back in Naruto's arms again. Itachi gave her another soft smile before turning his attention to his brother.

"I guess you won't come to the office today," he commented. "Seeing as you look like you're at the brink of death."

Sasuke scowled at him.

"I can work from here," he muttered.

Itachi raised his eyebrows at him.

"I'd rather you just got better," he said. "You're sick and might make mistakes, and we can't afford that."

Sasuke's scowl deepened, but he didn't argue. Naruto wondered if he simply was too tired to.

"Anyway," Itachi continued, "I'm just here to see how you were since you didn't sound too good on the phone yesterday, and also, I need the keys to the company car you borrowed. It needs to be returned."

"It's in the bowl where the other keys are," Sasuke told him, waving his hand in the direction of the hallway.

Itachi nodded and turned to leave.

"I'll see myself out then," he said over his shoulder. "See you when you get better!"

"Bye, Tachi!" Emi called cheerfully, sounding much better after her little nap earlier.

"Bye, princess," Itachi answered before he disappeared. They heard jingling keys and the door open and close, and then silence fell.

Naruto cleared his throat, glancing at Sasuke who had closed his eyes, his head resting on the backrest of the couch.

"So," he started and Sasuke peered at him with heavy lidded eyes. "Breakfast?"

"I would like that," he murmured and Naruto smiled at him softly.

He put Emi down beside her father and stood up to make his way over to the kitchen. He stopped in the hallway, changing his course after a moment of thought to make a quick trip upstairs and grab a blanket before returning to the living room.

Sasuke was dozing off again with Emi snuggled up against his side, cocooned in her blanket, eyes glued to whatever was on the TV. He put his finger to his lips when she noticed him and approached quietly, throwing the blanket over Sasuke. Then he stroked Emi's hair gently and went back to his previous plan of making yet another breakfast.

This was going to be quite the uneventful day, he thought as he entered the kitchen. But he didn't mind. It felt kind of nice taking care of people again, like he had taken care of the kids in the orphanage.

* * *

It took Sasuke until Sunday afternoon to recover and he was going stir crazy. It had only been two days, but he wasn't used to not doing anything at all and just lying in bed for hours.

Emi had gotten better fairly quickly since her fever hadn't had the chance to break out fully, which was a relief, and she was now lying belly down on his home office floor, flipping through a picture book and trying to read the few, simple sentences at the bottom of each, mouthing them to herself, while Sasuke looked over some papers his brother had faxed him. The house felt strangely calm and quiet since Naruto had gone out to pick up what he needed from his apartment.

Sasuke had been against the idea at first, as most people now knew he was associated with the Uchiha family, but Naruto refused his offer to drive him over, his excuse being that Sasuke and Emi still needed to rest since it was too close to the end of their fevers to be running about. Itachi had backed him up when he'd called to see if Sasuke had gotten the papers he needed, reassuring him that most of the paparazzi would have given up on waiting after two days, since they most likely had other people to bother than a no-show.

So he was putting all his excess energy from worry into work; folders and papers spread all over his desk.

"Daddy," Emi suddenly said and he looked up at her over the edge of the desk.

She had pulled herself up into a sitting position, watching him way too seriously and thoughtfully for her age.

"Yes?" he asked.

She considered him for a moment, frowning.

"Are you and Na-chan going to marry?" she asked and Sasuke nearly coughed up his heart.

"What?" he croaked, the pen in his hand dropping and rolling down into his lap before hitting the floor.

Emi's seriousness deepened.

"Na-chan lives here now and I love him and I love daddy," she explained. "So Na-chan and daddy have to marry so I have two parents."

Sasuke could only stare at his daughter in complete shock. It wasn't that he hadn't been thinking about doing adult things with Naruto lately, but his imagination had come nowhere near the commitment his daughter wanted of him.

Then what she had said sunk in and he rose from his chair to kneel before her.

"Emi, what do you mean two parents?" he asked softly.

Emi looked a little unsure.

This was something he'd been afraid of. She had never had a mother or a second parent figure, no matter how much Sakura had tried being a woman Emi could look up to. Sakura had been a sister to her, not a parent, and he had always felt a little guilty for not trying harder to find a mother for Emi. But he didn't have the time or the trust in the women he met at parties or conferences to put much effort in.

"All the other parents are married when they live together," she mumbled. "Everyone has two parents. And I love Na-chan. I want Na-chan to be my dad."

"Emi," he said, caressing her hair. "Naruto and I do not have the same relationship other parents have and he is not your father."

Emi's eyes turned glassy and she scooted away from him.

"But I want Na-chan to be my dad!" she repeated, a little panicked. "I want two parents, too!"

Sasuke sighed and pulled her onto his lap as a tear escaped down her cheek.

"I know," he soothed. "I know."

She clutched to him tightly, sniffling.

"Daddy, I want you to marry Na-chan," she pleaded and it broke his heart.

He didn't answer, but simply held her closer, endlessly glad Naruto was not in the house at the moment.

When she stopped crying he pulled back, cupping her face gently and drying her tears with his thumbs.

"Emi," he started slowly, not sure how to proceed.

She looked up at him with wide eyes and he couldn't get any words out to dissuade her fantasies. He just didn't have the heart to at the moment, when her eyes were still damp and her breath still hitched.

"Do you want to watch cartoons?" he said instead, silently berating himself for avoiding the subject.

He would need to bring it up, and soon, but he wasn't prepared just this moment to break her heart.

Emi smiled and nodded, quickly forgetting to be sad as she started to tell him about the show she was currently watching while he carried her downstairs, bringing his papers and laptop with him.

* * *

It was getting ridiculous, really, Naruto thought as he caught movement out of the corner of his eye.

The bus ride hadn't been completely awful. People had stared of course, and there had been a few whispers here and there so he mostly kept his head down, but no one had dared approach him yet. Which he was grateful for.

However, ever since he stepped off the bus he had been followed. It was only a few blocks between the apartment complex and the bus stop so he hadn't been too worried, but the person following him was most definitely a photographer and he was closing in.

Naruto increased his speed, trying to keep from running. Just a few steps more and he would be at the entrance to his apartment building. He sped up, threw open the entrance door, and cursed the fact that his apartment building didn't have a code lock, which meant basically anyone who wanted could enter.

He glanced over his shoulder and saw the photographer approaching, prompting him to run up the stairs and over to his door.

Only there was someone already in front of it.

His breath caught and he was about to run back down when he realized there were three people and he recognized all of them.

"Guys?" he asked. His three friends turned and he gaped at them. "What are you doing here?"

Kiba raised his eyebrows.

"What, no hello?" he said. "You messaged us you would be packing up your apartment, so we came to help."

Naruto frowned.

Yes, he had sent them a message about living with Sasuke and needing to get things from his apartment, but he wasn't packing up. He was probably only going to pack a suitcase and be done with it.

"I'm keeping the apartment?" he said, but it came out like a question. He heard footsteps in the stairs and a chill went down his spine. "Never mind, let's just get inside!" he said hurriedly before anyone could answer and rushed forward again to unlock the door.

He ushered everyone inside and slammed the door shut, locking and bolting it for good measure.

"Stalker?" Shikamaru asked.

Naruto scoffed.

"Something like that," he muttered, moving past his friends and toward his room.

"You're the mystery of the year," Kiba cackled as he and the other two followed him. "You just popped up one day and _everybody_ wants to know who you are and where you came from. You should see the theories. The magazines don't believe the cover story the Uchihas told them about you being their long lost friend from abroad."

Naruto rolled his eyes as he pulled out a suitcase from his closet and started stuffing it with clothes.

"Some think you're the lord of an oil region," Choji filled him in. "And then there're some that argue you're a prince from the west with a son you want to marry off to the daughter of Uchiha Sasuke."

"The most ridiculous one is that you are from a secret organization," Shikamaru added in a scoff, "here to recruit the kid to train her against evil forces or whatever. Sounds like a comic book."

Taking a deep breath, Naruto turned to face them.

"I don't wanna hear this," he sighed and rubbed his face. "I don't care what they think about me. What I do care about is if you're gonna help or just stand around being useless."

His three friends raised their eyebrows at him.

"Tell us what you want us to do," Choji said.

"Well, I had only planned on bringing back clothes today, but since you're here I could pack a box with books and other things I usually need." He waved a hand in the direction of his bed. "There's a folded box under the bed, so start packing."

Shikamaru and Choji moved over to do as they were told while Kiba stayed with him, putting clothes into his suitcase as well. Thankfully, they stayed on topics other than what conspiracy theories the general public had thought up about him, and packing his stuff went fairly quickly. He didn't own very much to begin with.

"Hey, would you need a ride?" Shikamaru asked over his shoulder as he sealed the box with some tape. "We took my car here, so I could drive you over to your new home."

"Yeah!" Kiba said enthusiastically. "That sounds like a great plan! You wouldn't need to deal with paparazzi and public transport and all that!"

Naruto appraised him with distrust, narrowing his eyes before shoving him lightly.

"I don't think that's a good idea," he said.

"Oh, come one!" Kiba pleaded. "We're your friends! You know we wouldn't do anything bad!"

Naruto looked from one to the other, chewing his lip. Sasuke had told him not to bring outsiders in, even if he trusted them. But these were his friends. He didn't just _trust_ them, he _knew_ them, very well, and he knew they were just curious and wouldn't bring any harm. Besides if he simply told them to stay in the car, that would technically not be bringing them _in_, right?

Wow, he would be in so much trouble.

"Just the ride," he conceded reluctantly, although he was still fairly certain it was a bad idea.

They could just drop him off at the gates, he concluded. He hoped Kiba wouldn't get too pushy, since he always had a hard time saying no to friends and people he cared about.

Kiba's face fell and Choji seemed a little disappointed as well. Shikamaru shrugged.

"Let's get going," he said. "It's the other side of town and I'd like to get home sooner rather than later."

* * *

Sasuke looked up as the front door opened and stuck his head out of the living room, watching as Naruto made his way in with a small, black suitcase.

"Welcome back," he said and Naruto's head snapped up.

"Oh, I'm back," he smiled, toeing off his shoes and heaving the bag up the few steps in the entrance. "Where's Emi?"

Sasuke pointed behind him as Naruto came closer, watching his face soften into a fond smile as his eyes fell upon Emi's sleeping form on the couch.

"Did you guys eat already?" he asked.

"No, we were waiting for you," Sasuke answered with a small smile. "Emi insisted."

Naruto chuckled and gestured to his suitcase.

"I'll just get this to my room and bring in the box I left outside, then we could make dinner?"

Sasuke nodded and made his way back to the couch and picked up his laptop from the coffee table to continue work as Naruto started for the stairs.

There was a rustle by the door, then a horrified gasp from somewhere, and Naruto zipped past the entrance to the living room, back towards the entrance.

"I told you to wait in the car!" he hissed.

Sasuke frowned and put his laptop down again.

"Well, I thought I'd just leave the box here!" Another, completely foreign, voice argued back. "I wasn't going to enter!"

Sasuke made his way to the entrance for a second time.

Naruto had his back turned on him, facing another young man who had to be around the same age with brown messy hair and curious eyes. They widened as they spotted Sasuke and the man's jaw fell open. Naruto's shoulders tensed and he turned slowly, meeting Sasuke's questioning gaze with an apologetic wrinkle of his nose.

"Uh…" he hedged. "I-I'm sorry. I – my friends are outside in a car 'cause they gave me a lift here. I told them to wait there, but uhm… well…" he gestured meekly at the man in the doorway. "I'm sorry."

Sasuke's eyes narrowed and the stranger swallowed audibly.

"I promise they won't say anything to anyone!" Naruto hurried to defend, stepping in front of his friend. "The guard at the gates only let them in because I was with them."

Sasuke's eyes narrowed further. He was about to start a very angry rant about safety and all the ways Naruto had breached security by bringing his friends to their house when he noticed the nervous way he fiddled with his fingers while his eyes darted around and he shrank away from him. It was very unlike the confidence Naruto usually exuded and Sasuke realized he was scared. Of what, he didn't know, but fear was there and it felt horrible to be the cause of it. All tension melted away and he just stood staring at Naruto, trying to find the right words.

"It's okay," he heard himself say and felt as shocked as Naruto looked, because it was far from _okay_. "No, it's not okay."

Naruto and his friend frowned in confusion but Sasuke pinned the stranger down with a glare.

"If I ever get word that you and whoever else is in that car breathe anything about being here, I will make your lives miserable," he threatened. "Have I made myself clear?"

Naruto's friend nodded frantically and turned to rush back to the car. Naruto bit his lip for a second before he followed him, leaving Sasuke to sigh and rub his face.

Hadn't they been through this? He was quite certain he and Naruto had discussed security. Of course, to actually get into the neighborhood you would need an ID card the security at the gate had a copy of in their database. And to get into Sasuke's house a code and a key was needed, although the code was deactivated whenever he was at home.

He trusted Naruto. He really did; however, security was not something to be taken lightly. Especially since there were so many people itching to get closer to his family.

Naruto returned fairly quickly, shoulders tense and eyes not meeting Sasuke's as he closed the door and bent down to pick up the box.

"Naruto," Sasuke started and he jumped. "I don't even know where to begin."

"I'm sorry," he murmured. "I know I shouldn't have let them in, but they're not bad! They wouldn't –"

"Can you be sure?" Sasuke didn't want to raise his voice, but he couldn't help it. "You can't trust anyone! They could be hooligans in their spare time for all you know! Or working for the mafia!"

Naruto's eyes narrowed at that and he put the box down to stand taller, crossing his arms.

"Do you really think I wouldn't know that after three years? I study with them, I spend all my free time with them, and I have been to their homes time and again!" he shot back. "There is no reason I shouldn't trust them!"

"That is still not enough to bring them here without a background check and interview first!" Sasuke was nearly yelling. "Why do you think we live here in the first place?! If I wanted unintelligent, selfish baboons to find us we'd be living somewhere completely different!"

Something dangerous flashed in Naruto's eyes and he drew himself up to his full height.

"I know I was wrong and I'm sorry," he growled. "But don't you dare imply my friends are mindless, selfish bastards!"

Emi's sleepy but scared voice interrupted Sasuke's angry retort.

"Na-chan?" she mumbled and they both turned to look at her.

She glanced between them fearfully. Sasuke was about to kneel down and tell her to go back to the living room while he talked to Naruto, when she burst into tears. He froze for a moment, completely at a loss as to what was happening as his mind was still reeling with Naruto's blatant disregard for security.

"Oh, baby," Naruto immediately soothed and she put out her arms towards him. "What is it?"

She sniffled as he picked her up and hugged her, burying her face in is shoulder.

"Why is daddy yelling at you?" came her muffled voice. "Are you going to leave?"

There was a twinge in Sasuke's heart and he closed his eyes. Emi never heard him raise his voice and after the conversation they'd had in his office, of course she would draw that kind of conclusion.

"No, Emi," he answered hoarsely and Naruto turned his head to look at him. "Naruto and I simply have a disagreement."

Emi peered at him over Naruto's shoulder. Sasuke was at least ninety-nine point nine percent sure she was going to mention the marrying thing again and his stomach lurched.

"Emi, are you hungry?" Naruto asked, most likely trying to change the subject from fighting but unknowingly saving them all from a very embarrassing situation at the same time, and she nodded. "Let's make dinner then."

Sasuke would forever be grateful that his daughter loved food enough it would derail her thoughts and watched them make their way to the kitchen, discussing what to make for dinner.

All the fight left him as they disappeared around the corner and he deflated.

He was sure Naruto wouldn't intentionally bring them any harm. He knew he loved Emi a lot and that he would always protect her to the best of his abilities. That still didn't excuse what he had done, even if he had a reason for it. Although, Sasuke maybe shouldn't have insulted his friends either since he seemed to care for them a whole lot as well.

He let out a heavy sigh and glanced down at the box still at the door. Curiosity got the better of him and he approached it, not able to stop the small prick of disappointment as he saw the tape sealing the lid shut. He shook his head at his own behavior, picked it up and brought it with him upstairs to Naruto's room. It was heavy so he guessed there were at least a few books in there. Then he went back down to bring the suitcase up as well, before joining the two in the kitchen.

Naruto wasn't singing and dancing as usual but he was still talking to Emi, who was perched on the counter, in a soft voice while cutting up what seemed to be scallions.

Why did he have to feel bad for something that had not been his fault? Sasuke wondered when there was a twinge in his chest at the lack of noise and music. He had every right to be angry.

"Daddy, we're making omelettes!" Emi announced once she noticed him in the doorway, apparently completely having forgotten about the argument earlier, which he was grateful for. "Na-chan says he can draw a ketchup cat on mine!"

Sasuke glanced at Naruto, who hadn't turned to acknowledge him, before looking back at Emi.

"That's great, Emi," he answered quietly and she beamed.

"What do you want, daddy?" she asked. "Na-chan can do it!"

Sasuke gave her a small smile and went up to her, hyper aware of Naruto's presence. He stole another quick glance at him, but he still refused to acknowledge him. Sighing, he picked Emi off the counter, kissed her forehead, and put her on the floor.

"Emi, why don't you go continue watching cartoons or draw?" he told her when she looked up at him in confusion and was glad she tottered off without any objections.

He took a deep breath and turned back to Naruto, who had moved over to the fridge to bring out whatever else he needed. He stood a little awkwardly, trying to find the right words to start a conversation but failing miserably. Naruto turned back, his eyes catching Sasuke's almost unwillingly before he quickly averted them and went back to the cutting board, moving it the slightest bit further away. And, yes, that did make Sasuke feel worse.

Silence continued to surround them like a heavy fog, the only sound coming from the knife as it hit the cutting board every now and then and the distant voices on the TV in the other room.

"I'm sorry," Naruto murmured sincerely after what seemed like an eternity as he brushed off pieces of ham stuck to the knife. "For breaking security rules. I promise I won't do it again."

And just like that, Sasuke forgave him. It was an important issue, and he should continue reprimanding Naruto, but he couldn't find it in himself to. If Naruto promised he wouldn't do anything like it again, he would trust him.

He rubbed his forehead tiredly.

"And I apologize for saying all those thing about your friends," Sasuke said.

Naruto looked up at him, eyebrows raised. There was a tiny piece of sliced ham stuck on his cheek and Sasuke couldn't help the tugging of his lips. It was almost on instinct he reached out, Naruto's wide eyes following his every move as he leaned forward and grazed his fingertips across his cheek to brush the ham off.

There was a hitch in Naruto's breathing and Sasuke met his eyes, watching his gaze darken and flicker down to his lips. Something hummed in his chest and suddenly the fingertips connected to Naruto's skin tingled.

Oh.

_Oh._

He was about to cup Naruto's cheek and… he didn't know. And he never would, since he didn't get the chance to find out as Naruto looked away and moved back, to the cutting board. A trickle of disappointment went through him, even if he had the satisfaction of seeing Naruto's ears and cheeks grow pink.

He didn't get the chance to ask anything about it either because Emi returned, complaining about her growling stomach. Naruto immediately got back to work and Sasuke helped him, if only to take every chance he got to touch the other. He put a hand to his back when he leaned around him to grab something or another, brushed his fingers against his arms as he passed to get something from the fridge or the other side of the kitchen, and stood behind him close enough to nearly touch as he watched him cook the omelettes.

He was rewarded with the constant pink face of Naruto, a few flusters here and there, and the occasional squeak, all of which put a small smirk on his lips and a skip in his heart.

And he found that he didn't much mind being in love.

* * *

**Hello everyone!**

**I'm sorry I've taken so long to post another chapter but I had a lot of exams and stuff to do. And I'm sorry I haven't answered any comments either! I've read them and they all really help me write and feel good about this, so thank you! And thank you to those of you who sent encouraging messages as well! You're really sweet!**

**This chapter hasn't been edited, so I hope it's not too crappy and that you like it just a little haha!**

**See you in the next chapter!**


	9. Chapter 9

**09\. Naturo's caring friends and the dark spot in Uchiha history**

Sasuke had to know what he was doing, Naruto thought as he laid in bed later that night, staring at the ceiling. It couldn't just be a coincidence he had suddenly become all touchy-feely in the last few hours.

He sighed and rolled over onto his side, staring at the moon through the window.

Not that he didn't like it, but he had no idea what to make of it. If he had interpreted Sasuke's actions correctly, he would say Sasuke was actually interested in him the same way he was in Sasuke. And he was quite sure they had almost been about to kiss earlier, though he had started second guessing himself and pulled away. He didn't just want to assume. Sasuke might have simply tried to strengthen his apology with touches.

A huff escaped him and he rolled to his other side, squeezing his eyes shut.

He had really wanted to kiss him, though. He had been so close to leaning in, erasing what little space was left between them, and finally do what he had secretly fantasized about nearly ever since they met. But in the end he chickened out, and it left him wondering what could have happened.

It was a fitful sleep for Naruto that night and he took extra time getting ready in the safety of his room the next morning, too nervous to go downstairs and face Sasuke. He stood with his hand on the door handle, gathering up enough courage to face him again without giving in to the urge to kiss him.

He grumbled at his own behavior. This was ridiculous. He didn't usually shy away from things like this. Although, there was a lot more at stake misinterpreting Sasuke's actions than some random person's in a club or in school. Here he had his job, his crush and, first and foremost, Emi to lose, all of which he held a lot more dearly than a simple mistake he could shrug off after a day or two.

A soft knock on the door startled him out of his thoughts and he frowned, opening it. Emi stood on the other side, staring up at him wide-eyed before wordlessly raising her arms to be picked up.

"Aren't you a little too old not to speak?" Naruto asked but there was a grin on his face and he bent down to gather her in his arms. "I let it go when you were sick, but you should use your words, Emi."

She pulled a grimace at him as her arms settled loosely around his neck.

"Daddy said that I should ask if you wanted breakfast before we left because you weren't in the kitchen yet and he thought you were sleeping," she informed him in one breath while he carried her downstairs. "And I wanted pancakes today but daddy doesn't know how to make them because he doesn't like them so he told me to ask you. I liked Saku-nee-chan's pancakes. She made smiley faces on them."

"Oh, I see," Naruto bounced her a little higher in his arms to get a better hold on her. "I'll make some for you tomorrow, then."

Emi beamed at him as they entered the kitchen where she turned to Sasuke who was just popping the last corner of his toast into his mouth.

"Daddy, I knocked on Na-chan's door like you said!" she announced proudly. "And he's going to make pancakes tomorrow!"

Sasuke smiled at her while Naruto raised his eyebrows. Since when did Emi need to knock on doors? He didn't remember Sasuke telling him it was something she should make a habit.

"She needs to learn manners since she's been slacking lately," Sasuke explained once he'd swallowed his bite, as if he'd read his thoughts. "It's impolite to barge into other people's personal space."

Naruto wrinkled his nose and put Emi down in her vacated chair. She returned to scooping cereal into her mouth, her eyes moving between them.

"Well, don't be too hard on her," he said and Sasuke raised his eyebrows. "She's only a kid after all. Besides, I don't mind."

He ruffled Emi's hair, chuckling as she grumbled through her mouthful of milk and cereal.

"I was her age when I learned proper manners," Sasuke protested.

"Wow," Naruto said and sat down at the place set for him, reaching for the almost empty jug of orange juice while eyeing the tube of toast and the bag of buns, trying to decide what he wanted. "I don't envy your childhood at all."

"There was nothing wrong with my childhood," Sasuke argued. "It was different than yours perhaps, since I had to learn how to handle the media and masses of people from the day I could walk and talk, but we were still a family like any other." Sasuke stood up to refill his cup of coffee. "What, did your parents just let you run around without a care?"

Naruto froze for a fraction of a second but quickly gathered himself, ignoring the small, confused dent in Sasuke's forehead.

"No, they didn't," he muttered, forcing himself not to acknowledge the cold in his chest, which gripped his heart every time he spoke of the parents he never knew.

Technically, he wasn't lying. The patrons at the orphanage certainly didn't let him do whatever he pleased, but he never listened to them. If they told him to take the straight route home from school, he would find the longest one to explore the places he wasn't allowed to go. If he was forbidden from climbing the fence in the backyard of the orphanage and play in the forest behind it, that was exactly where they would find him in his free time. If bedtime was at eight, he would stay up to eleven, sneaking around the dark halls and pretend he was on a ghost hunt.

Of course, the times he had been caught there were repercussions, but it never deterred him from rebelling against the otherwise uncaring patrons. He'd been slapped by the more angry ones, refused food by the apathetic ones, and locked in the attic for the night by the furious ones.

And what angered most of the patrons was that he would absolutely, always, help any other child in the orphanage when they needed it; give them extra food, pick the lock of the rooms they had been banished to, and take the blame for their mistakes. That was why they never had a good word to say about him when couples came to look for a child to adopt; they were punishing him to the utmost degree for his constant disobedience by never giving him a chance to have a family.

It was something he didn't let himself think too often about, unless he was feeling very down. After all, there were many good things in his life as well.

"Naruto?" Sasuke asked and sat down again.

He realized he had been zooning out and blinked, forcing a smile and grabbing a bun.

"Sorry," he mumbled. "I'm a little tired, I think."

Sasuke didn't look convinced but was interrupted by someone honking outside.

"Daddy, Tachi's here," Emi informed and Sasuke looked at the clock.

"He's a little late," he muttered and stood up to go meet his brother.

They watched him go in silence. Then Emi turned back to her breakfast, glancing up at Naruto from time to time. He looked at her questioningly for a few seconds, unsure what the – way too thoughtful – expression on her face meant and raised his eyebrows when she seemed to come to a conclusion and hastily downed her glass of juice. She didn't look at him and stared down into her bowl, pushing her cereal around.

Deciding not to ask, he buttered the bun, before getting up to grab the mixed berries jam from the fridge.

"Papa, I want more juice," Emi suddenly blurted.

Naruto frowned at the jars and cartoons in front of him as he searched for the jam he wanted. Emi usually called Sasuke '_daddy'_ so this new way of addressing him was a little weird. But then again, Emi had been acting weird the past five minutes so he ignored it as he found the jar he needed and turned around to shoot Sasuke a questioning look.

Except, there was no one else in the kitchen besides Emi and himself.

It took Naruto a moment to realize Emi had spoken to him and he blinked at her owlishly. She met his eyes with a steady gaze, holding her glass out expectantly.

"W-what did you j-just call me?" Naruto stuttered, nearly dropping the jar of jam.

A frustrated look passed her face.

"Papa," she repeated and something warm sparked in Naruto's chest.

Ignoring it, he approached her, put the jar on the table, and crouched down to her level, trying to give her a placating smile.

"Emi, I'm not your dad," he explained gently. "I'm Na-chan, remember?"

She looked frustrated again.

"But," she said, "you're not my brother."

Naruto shook his head.

"So you're papa," she elaborated simply. "Then I have two dads because Na-chan lives with us now and I love Na-chan."

Naruto bit his lip, wondering how the hell he had gotten into this situation in the few short minutes Sasuke had been gone.

"Baby, I love you too, but for me to be your dad, your father and I would have to be in love," he tried to change his approach.

Which apparently backfired since Emi's eyes widened, her expression turning panicked.

"You don't love daddy?" she asked in horror.

Naruto nearly coughed up his heart.

"No! Yes! No! Ugh!" he scrambled. Then he took a deep breath and put his hands on her small shoulders. "Listen, Emi. I like you and your father very much, but you can't call me papa."

She looked like she wanted to protest but he cut her off.

"Emi," he warned and she nodded reluctantly, which was as well since Sasuke and Itachi entered by that point.

"Is our princess causing problems, your majesty?" Itachi wondered and both Naruto and Sasuke shot him a scowl.

Naruto straightened and shook his head, caressing Emi's hair gently to show her he wasn't mad.

"No," he answered. "We just had a discussion."

He ignored the inquiring looks the brothers gave him and returned to his seat and his breakfast, praying Emi wouldn't tell Sasuke what had happened. He had felt all kinds of warm and fond when Emi had said she loved him and wanted him to be family, but he had no idea how Sasuke would react to such a thing and he would rather not risk it.

It would be nice though, he thought as he bit into his bun, to belong to a family.

* * *

"You're early," Sasuke said as Itachi stepped out of his car to greet him.

"I know," he answered. "Mother asked me to tell you Naruto is welcome to attend the family barbeque. She would like to meet him, since father mentioned he thought he was a nice young man. You do remember it's this weekend, right?"

Sasuke let out a small groan. He had completely forgotten about it. His mind had been too preoccupied with Naruto and what was happening between them as well as making sure he understood what precautions he should take when he went back to university today. Naruto had vehemently refused bodyguards, so Sasuke had given him a crash course in how to handle the general public. At least the journalists weren't allowed onto school grounds, which was a small relief.

Also, Emi had continued to ask him to marry Naruto the entirety of yesterday, although, thankfully not within earshot of him.

Itachi shook his head at him.

"Also, father asked me to see if you had that red wine he liked," his brother continued. "You gave him a bottle as a present, but he couldn't find it in any stores. And he would like to invite Naruto as well, as thanks for putting up with you and taking care of Emi."

Sasuke narrowed his eyes at Itachi's amused grin but refrained from taking the obvious bait and led him inside.

"I don't remember which wine I gave him," he confessed. "But he can have all the bottles in my cabinet if he wants."

They entered the kitchen to a deflated Emi, Naruto crouching before her.

"Is our princess causing problems, your majesty?" Itachi said.

Sasuke shot him a scowl and Naruto stood up with much the same expression.

"No," he said. "We just had a discussion."

Sasuke gave him a questioning look, but was ignored as Naruto only gave him a quick (and was it nervous?) glance. He turned his gaze to Emi, who stared down at her cereal, chasing the last few pieces around the bowl petulantly. Then he exchanged a look with Itachi, who shrugged and strolled over to take the seat beside her.

"So, Naruto," his brother started once he had caressed Emi's hair in greeting. "I'm sure Sasuke has already told you, but our annual family barbeque is this weekend."

A bewildered frown appeared on Naruto's forehead and he glanced at Sasuke, who had sat down again.

"I'll take that as a no, then," Itachi sighed, shooting his brother a suffering look. "Either way, our parents would like to invite you, so I would advise you to attend."

Emi's head shot up and she was practically vibrating in her seat, a complete 180 form her listless appearance two seconds ago. Sasuke nearly choked on his coffee. What was going on?

"Na-chan will come, right?" she demanded loudly, almost shouting, and all three adults jumped. "Because Na-chan's family, and then, and then you will be-"

"Emi," Naruto interrupted, voice soft but firm, and she snapped her mouth shut, her pout returning although her expression was laced with guilt as well.

Sasuke glanced between them, beyond confused. Apparently Itachi didn't understand the exchange any better because he gave Sasuke another small shrug, though his eyes were now trained on Emi in thought. Sasuke made a mental note to ask Naruto about it later.

"So," he said and Naruto looked at him. "You're welcome if you'd like to come." Sasuke shot Itachi an irritated look. "You don't have to if you'd rather not."

Naruto watched him, eyes distant with thought. Then he glanced at Emi again and smiled a little.

"Yeah, sure," he said. Emi's smile was brighter than the sun. "Why not? I've never been to a barbeque. You're sure I won't impose or anything?"

"Seeing as our parents were the ones to invite you," Itachi said, "I'd say you're going to be the highlight of the barbeque. A new, younger face among all the old farts."

An amused snort left Sasuke against his will and Itachi smirked at him. Naruto, however, narrowed his eyes and regarded Itachi with distrust, which he waved off.

"Oh, don't look at me like that," he said. "The barbeque is all great aunts and uncles, cousins who are at least ten years older than Sasuke and I, and no kids except Emi since everyone has been too busy with their careers to produce children. We need another kid."

A scowl took over Naruto's expression.

"Very funny," he grumbled.

"I know," Itachi chuckled. "Absolutely hilarious."

Sasuke sighed, shooting his brother a suffering look.

"Anyway," Itachi said, completely ignoring them. "The wine, if you please Sasuke. And we need to leave to make it in time for the meeting."

Sasuke downed the rest of the coffee in his cup and got up, bringing his plate to the sink. Then he grabbed a few bottles of wine from the cabinet above the fridge so his father could chose whichever he wanted.

"Emi go get ready," Sasuke said when he caught sight of the clock as he turned around, balancing four bottles in his arms. "The driver should be here soon."

"Okay," Emi answered and slid off her chair.

Naruto propped his mouth with the last half of his bun and followed her, swooping her into his arms on the way.

"Can I go in my pajamas?" they heard Emi ask around the corner, followed by Naruto's laugh.

Itachi chuckled and shook his head and Sasuke began cleaning the table after putting the bottles down in front of his brother.

"I wonder if Emi might be getting a little bit ahead of herself," Itachi sighed, more to himself than anyone else.

Sasuke turned to him.

"What do you mean?" he wondered.

Itachi looked up at him thoughtfully.

"Well, she's taken to Naruto quite well," he said. "Better than I would have expected. She wasn't this loving and adamant on being family with Sakura, and they were quite close, considering." Then he smirked. "I could say the same about you, too."

Sasuke would never admit he actually was on the verge of blushing.

"I don't know what you're talking about," he muttered, the cutlery clanging against the plates a little harder than necessary.

"Come now, little brother," Itachi teased. "You cannot seriously think I wouldn't notice the way you two look at each other?"

Sasuke stiffened.

He was aware he might let his gaze linger on Naruto longer than necessary at times, but he was subtle about it. At least he thought he was. Naruto certainly hadn't mentioned anything, nor had anyone else. Though, they weren't really around anyone else other than his brother and Emi, one of which was a four-year-old and not very good at picking up subtleties.

He hadn't noticed Naruto being any more aware of him than normal either. Not the way Sasuke had become acutely conscious of his presence. Although… there was that almost kiss, which he was quite sure Naruto had wanted just as much as he himself had.

"Look at each other?" he repeated. "I… don't…"

Itachi sighed.

"It's fine, you know," he said softly, misinterpreting Sasuke's hesitation. "We Uchihas have always been good at keeping our private life out of the media for the past twenty-four years. I don't think mom and dad care, and I certainly don't mind if you and Naruto become a couple."

Sasuke's heart skipped a beat and he gripped the edge of the sink so hard his knuckles whitened. He had completely forgot to consider the media in all of this. He'd been too caught up in Naruto and falling for him that he'd never even thought about the backlash he and his entire family would get if the public ever got wind of what he and Naruto felt for each other.

Not to mention Naruto.

Sasuke was protected by his family and their name, but Naruto had no one, nothing, to keep him out of the fire should it be directed at him. And it _would_ be directed at him if it got out they were involved. He would be accused of seducing Sasuke, of brainwashing him, or blackmailing him and it could all end in something too horrible to imagine. Sasuke had seen it happen before, even if he'd been only four he remembered the terror of it, all the tears his grandmother had cried and the general fear in the entire Uchiha family.

His father's uncle had had a relationship with a man. It was the first and last time something of the Uchiha's private life had ever made it to the media and the public and it had ended with the couple dying, the lover by trying to escape the media and his father's uncle by suicide to follow him in death. It was a dark spot of their history that no one ever mentioned, not in the family and never in interviews. The journalists were too scared to ask anything because of the power the Uchihas held by now, although everyone knew they were dying to know.

But Sasuke would never let that happen to Naruto. He'd give his all to keep history from repeating itself. That is, if Naruto even wanted to be with him in the first place. He was quite certain his feelings weren't unrequited, but one could never be too sure.

Wow, he had really fallen hard for him, without even noticing.

"You're thinking about that incident, aren't you?" Itachi interrupted his thoughts and Sasuke startled. "Our company has a lot more power than it did over two decades ago, they can't hurt us in the same way they could then."

"Yeah," Sasuke muttered. "I know."

Except, he didn't care if the company got hurt.

He sighed and glanced at the clock.

"We should really leave," he changed the subject. "We're late."

"You're right." Itachi rose with a sigh of his own. "I'll wait in the car."

Sasuke nodded and they parted ways in the hallway, Itachi leaving out the door and Sasuke climbing up the stairs to go get what he needed for the day. Emi and Naruto exited her room just as he reached the door to his office and he turned to them.

"Daddy!" Emi exclaimed, her hair neatly pulled from her face and pinned at the back of her head by two hairclips with a small bumblebee on them to match her sunflower printed tunic and yellow leggings.

Sasuke couldn't help smiling at her. Trust Naruto to dress her to match his sunny personality. Although, Emi was becoming quite sunny herself these days.

"Yes?" he answered and crouched down as she approached him.

She threw her arms around his neck and hugged tightly. Sasuke swayed for a moment with the impact but managed to regain his balance and hug her back. He gave Naruto a questioning look, but he simply shrugged, looking a little wary. Once again, there was Sasuke was sure he was missing something.

"Daddy, I'm sorry you can't have children," Emi mumbled into his shoulder and he froze.

"What?" he asked, completely bewildered. He looked to Naruto again who was now shaking with barely contained laughter after letting out a strangled noise of surprise. "What's going on?"

Emi pulled out of his arms to give him an impatient frown.

"Well, daddy can't have children if there is no mom and I don't want a mom anymore," she explained, which sobered Naruto up pretty quickly.

Sasuke just stared at her, barely daring to look at Naruto.

"Okay," he said slowly.

Itachi honked outside and he sighed. He'd have to pick this up when he got home.

"I need to go now, princess." He kissed Emi's forehead, stood up and opened the door to his office. "I'll see you tonight."

She nodded and went back to Naruto, who fidgeted nervously. He couldn't be sure, but he had the nagging feeling that Emi had told Naruto something along the lines of what she kept pestering Sasuke about. Not that he really minded her telling him she wanted him to be family, but he sincerely hoped she hadn't mentioned anything about a wedding since Sasuke wasn't sure how deep Naruto's feelings ran. It might just be a small crush for all he knew.

Though, he really hoped it was more than that.

* * *

All in all, the day back at university wasn't as bad as Naruto first had thought. Paparazzi weren't allowed on the school grounds (thank god), however, people were still staring at him and whispering to each other, though no one had approached him yet since his friends had apparently come to an agreement to surround him at all times. At first he was annoyed, having been stepped on his heels by Kiba one too many times as he followed closely behind him, but he didn't say anything and let them be however protective they wanted. At least it kept most of the students away so he wouldn't have to deal with them. He barely remembered Sasuke's lecture about properly handling people and their questions.

Even though they were trying not to show it, Naruto knew how curious the professors were as well by the extra glances they threw his way in the lecture halls, when normally they wouldn't really look at a student sitting in the corner at the far back of the room like he was now doing, courtesy of whoever of his friends he had a lecture with pushing him there and taking the seat beside him.

Choji and Kiba wouldn't even let him go to the cafeteria to buy lunch and even Shikamaru said it wasn't a good idea when Naruto turned to him for backup. He gave him a betrayed look and stomped away, feeling indignant and unheard.

He found a bench in a secluded corner of the university grounds and brushed away leaves before throwing himself down on it with a huff. It was actually quite a good spot, concealed by bushes and a tree, but still in the sun. Naruto leaned his back against the warm brick wall the bench was pushed up against and let out a long sigh. Shikamaru wasn't far behind him and sat down as well, mirroring Naruto's position and closing his eyes.

"You guys really don't need to babysit me, you know?" Naruto grumbled. "I'm not defenseless."

Shikamaru opened one eye to peer at him and snorted.

"We know," he said. "But better be safe than sorry. There's an old story about someone involved with the Uchihas' private life dying because of media attention."

Cold washed over Naruto and he turned to stare at him.

"What?" he gasped.

"Yeah," Shikamaru continued. "Some journalist mentioned it in an article yesterday. Apparently most of the articles have been deleted by now, but Choji and Kiba have been trying to find out what exactly happened so we could prevent it from happening to you too."

Naruto could only gape at him, not finding any words.

"Oh," he finally managed. "Thank you."

Shikamaru closed his eyes again and shrugged right as Choji and Kiba found them, tossing sandwiches at their heads.

"I hope you like tuna, because that's all that was left," Kiba said as he sat down on the grass in front of them, Choji joining him.

Naruto stared at him for a moment, then at Choji, but they both were too busy inhaling their sandwiches to notice. He looked back at Shikamaru, who smiled faintly and bit into his own sandwich. Shaking his head, Naruto smiled back, feeling warm with the knowledge his friends cared so much about him. A small sense of nostalgia hit him with a bang as he remembered the times Gaara would stand by his side against bullies on the playground in preschool. He should really call his friend, he thought wistfully. They hadn't talked in over two months.

The rest of the day went by much the same, though Naruto now had a whole other understanding for his friends' behavior. Still, he was glad once he tumbled into the back seat of his and Emi's driver's car, exhausted by always being tense and on the lookout for any possible trouble.

The driver gave him a sympathetic smile as he pulled away from the parking lot and seemed to know Naruto needed peace and quiet as the ride to Emi's daycare was spent in blissful silence, only the hum of the engine filling the air, its vibrations loosening Naruto's muscles. He sank deeper into his seat and closed his eyes, not opening them when they stopped and the driver got out to go get Emi. Sasuke had been insistent on Naruto staying in the car since there were many parents around to pick up their own kids around this time of day, some of which wouldn't mind playing dirty to get a few moments of fame by stringing together a made up story or exposing one thing or another about the Uchihas or Naruto. Naruto would have to agree it was better they didn't know he was there, and the staff at the daycare were sworn to professional secrecy so they weren't allowed to say anything about him and his connection to the Uchihas at all.

The car door on the opposite side opened and a cheery '_Na-chan!_' resounded in the car as Emi clambered inside, her process hindered by the paper in her hand, which she was trying not to crinkle.

"Hey, sweetie," Naruto greeted and leaned over to help her into her seat, gently pulling the paper out of her hands and laying it on his knees for safe keeping.

"I made a drawing today," Emi announced, pointing at the paper in Naruto's lap once she had been buckled in and the driver had started the car. "I make drawings everyday," she added as an afterthought and Naruto couldn't help the little laugh leaving him. "But I want this one in my room."

Naruto flipped the paper over and looked down at three, oddly proportioned figures standing in a cluster beside a red house with black windows. There was a quarter of a sun painted in the upper right corner, it's rays squiggly but all the same length. On the other side of the figures was a pond with one fish in it and a large, pink flower by its edge.

"It's very pretty," Naruto complimented and Emi beamed.

"It's me and daddy and Na-chan," she said proudly.

Naruto's heart swelled and he couldn't keep the fond smile from his face. He let Emi chatter all the way back to the house and she gushed about the family barbeque, which she had also apparently forgotten until yesterday, and told him all about which the best aunts and uncles were and what food they usually grilled and the presents she always got and all the sweets they could eat.

He listened to all of it, nodding at the appropriate times and _ooh_-ing or _aah_-ing when it was required of him, catching the amused glance of the driver every now and then.

Emi didn't stop talking until they waved goodbye to the driver and entered the house. She went suddenly quiet as the door shut behind them, staring down at the drawing in her hands as if she was seeing it for the first time.

"Is something on your mind?" Naruto asked and kneeled down beside her.

Emi wrinkled her nose and shook her head.

"No," she mumbled. Then she looked up at him. "I love you, Na-chan."

He smiled at her and caressed her hair, pulling her into a hug.

"I love you, too." He blew into her neck and she squirmed, laughing at the ticklish feeling. He pulled back and stood up again, holding his hand out for her to take after they both had pulled off their shoes. "Let's go make some burgers. You wanted them before you got sick, right?"

She nodded fervently and tugged at his hand pulling him towards the kitchen. He laughed and scooped her into his arms, putting her on the counter before turning to put on the radio, starting to sing along as music filled the room while he washed his hands and got all the things he needed from the cupboards and fridge. Emi watched him, swinging her legs in beat to the music as he danced around her, her laugh reverberating in his chest and leaving a nice feeling in its wake.

He made the burgers from scratch after cutting up the vegetables they would need and putting sliced potatoes in the oven to roast. They were placed in the pan just as Sasuke came back. Naruto didn't notice him at first, and neither did Emi apparently, since they were both too busy singing to each other and making funny faces. It wasn't until he made a little pirouette for her that his eyes landed on Sasuke, who had taken a seat at the table, chin in one hand as he watched them, a small, amused smile playing on his lips. Naruto's steps faltered and he came to an awkward stop.

"Daddy!" Emi said once she noticed him and Sasuke stood up, approaching the counter. "Welcome back!"

"I'm back," he answered and picked her up, supporting her weight on one arm.

He looked at Naruto, who smiled back at him.

"Welcome back," he echoed Emi's words and Sasuke's smile widened, sending Naruto's heart into a stuttering frenzy.

"What are you making," Sasuke wondered and peered into the pan.

Naruto spun around, praying the burgers hadn't burned. Had he flipped them already? He didn't remember.

"Burgers," he answered as he used the spatula to lift one up halfway and inspect if he needed to flip it or not.

"Na-chan promised to make them before," Emi said.

Sasuke nodded.

"Yes, he did," he answered.

Naruto huffed in fake indignation and ruffled Emi's hair.

The dinner went by peacefully, Emi doing most of the talking. Naruto caught Sasuke looking at him a few times as if he wanted to ask something, but wasn't sure how. Naruto himself wanted to ask about what Shikamaru had said earlier that day. And who better to ask than an Uchiha? He didn't want to do it in front of Emi though, since it wasn't something he wanted her to hear or worry about.

He got his chance when he was doing the dishes. Emi had run off to do her new favorite thing, which was trying to read, and Sasuke returned to the kitchen after he had followed her up to help her find the book she had left somewhere in his office. They worked in silence for a few seconds, both trying to come up with a way to start the conversation they wanted.

"So…" Sasuke finally said after drying his third plate. "Did you have any problems today?"

Naruto's insistent scrubbing on the pan paused momentarily and he chanced a glance at Sasuke, who looked at him intently.

"No," he answered and laughed a little. "My friends were very effective in keeping people away."

Sasuke frowned but nodded.

"But…" Naruto trailed off, his eyes returning to the pan in his hands. Sasuke waited quietly for him to continue. Naruto took a small breath and blew it out slowly. "They mentioned something about… someone involved with the Uchihas… dying…"

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Sasuke's hands still around the plate he was working on.

"Oh," he said slowly.

Naruto chanced another glance at him, taking in his small frown and his thinned out lips.

"They were worried about me and tried looking it up but almost all of the articles about it were removed," Naruto continued, then hesitated. "So, I was wondering… what happened to that person?"

Sasuke stared down at his hands, which were gripping the plate so hard by now Naruto worried it would break. Then he took a deep breath and put it away, dropping the kitchen towel on the counter and turning to him, arms crossed.

"My father's uncle had a lover," he began, "and the media found out it was a man."

Naruto's breath caught in his throat and he stared wide-eyed at him.

"Journalists pestered his lover, followed and stalked him to the point he nearly went insane," Sasuke told him quietly and Naruto quietly turned the water off, drying his hands as he listened. "He tried to escape them on his motorcycle when he was going home from work one evening. But they just wouldn't give up and chased after him in cars and buses and whatnot. He ended up losing control of his motorcycle on the highway and running right into a truck going the other way." He swallowed. "He died on impact and my father's uncle was so deep in grief and self loathing he committed suicide a month later."

Naruto reached out, almost unconsciously, and grabbed Sasuke's hand.

"I was only four years old," Sasuke continued, looking down at their hands. "But I remember how everyone was lost and afraid and sad. It's the reason everyone has worked hard to make our family company the strongest in the world, so no one can hurt us in the same way again." Naruto squeezed his hand gently. "Once we had enough power we took down all the journalists and articles we could find, erasing their spite and hate from the memory of those two."

Silence fell and Naruto watched Sasuke's jaw working, fighting back emotions he clearly didn't want to show. He hung his head to keep his face out of sight and Naruto wouldn't force him to look up. Instead he moved closer and wound his arms around Sasuke's waist, pulling him into a tight hug.

Sasuke stilled and for a moment Naruto thought he would be pushed away. But then arms settled around him and he was pressed closer to Sasuke's warm body, burying his face in his shoulder.

"People can change, you know," Naruto murmured into the fabric of Sasuke's shirt. "Times change."

"Not the media," Sasuke growled. "They will always be horrible vultures feeding on whatever scrap they can find."

Naruto pulled back to look at him and Sasuke met his gaze, eyes hard and angry. Then something shifted in them and they softened. Naruto shot him the smallest smile and, before he could stop himself, leaned in and kissed him. Sasuke met the kiss easily, as if he had been thinking the exact same thing and it was warm and hesitant and soft, like they weren't sure what they were doing. But it felt right. So right, Naruto's nerves were alive with tingles and sparks and his stomach and chest were filled with warm fuzzy cotton.

Naruto tilted his head to get closer, his hands moving up Sasuke's back to clutch at his shoulders while Sasuke cupped his face, his fingers weaving into his hair behind his ears and his thumbs rubbing his cheekbones in gentle caresses.

"I'll never let them do that to you," Sasuke promised as they pulled back for air, resting his forehead against Naruto's.

Naruto smiled and gave him another small kiss.

"I'll never let them do that to you, either," he answered.

* * *

**Hey! So this chapter is completely un-edited, but I hope it wasn't too bad to read! Also, I don't have much else to say... so see you in the next chapter! :)**


	10. Chapter 10

**10\. Elation and Fear**

Biting his lip, Naruto shifted a little in his seat and glanced at Sasuke, who was sitting beside him. For a moment he got caught watching his brow furrow in concentration and his eyes move rapidly from left to right as he scanned a text on his laptop screen. Then Naruto turned his gaze back to the mute TV screen; blinking at the man aiming his gun at a trembling boy in some criminal drama he didn't know the name of.

He had put Emi to bed around two hours ago, after stealing a few more kisses from Sasuke and finishing the dishes. Both of them had come to a silent agreement not to tell her anything just yet when she bounded back into the kitchen to proudly announce she had finished reading her book seconds after they had separated from their last kiss, only to demand Naruto help her read her bedtime story once Sasuke told her it was time for bed to quickly cover up anything she might have seen. Naruto was aware they both needed to sort out exactly what they wanted from each other before involving Emi, but as he left the kitchen with her, throwing one last glance at Sasuke over his shoulder, he knew his decision was already made. He wanted to stay, and not just as Emi's caretaker.

When Emi finally had fallen asleep, after the third fairytale, nervousness had begun crawling around in his stomach and he had stalled for a few minutes at the top of the stairs, listening to the murmur of Sasuke's voice as he talked to someone on the phone. He had decided that if he was going to further their relationship – that is, if Sasuke wished to as well – he wanted Sasuke to know he didn't really have any other family than himself and his friends. It wasn't that he thought Sasuke would have a problem with it; he just thought he should know. He wanted Sasuke to know him, who he was and what had made him the person he was and how much this actually meant for him.

It was weird, though, he had thought as he had stopped at the bottom of the stairs. If Sasuke demanded background checks on everyone entering his property, he should have done one on Naruto too, right? Maybe he'd thought it was a too sensitive subject to bring up.

Naruto had sighed and silently made his way to the living room, watching Sasuke from the doorway. He had been glaring at his laptop, fingers drumming against the keyboard. Apparently Sasuke had more and urgent work to do, which meant putting their conversation off. He had barely noticed Naruto as he sat down on the couch beside him, the only indication he was aware of his presence the small, nearly non-existent glance he threw him.

And that was how an hour passed, Naruto staring blankly at the TV, fading in and out of the fog of his thoughts, and Sasuke grumbling unintelligibly and smattering away on the keyboard.

Sighing softly, Naruto turned towards him, pulled his legs up to cross them at the ankles and leaned his elbow on his knee, head in hand, and proceeded to watch Sasuke work. He smiled a little when Sasuke's eyes narrowed and his lips formed silent words in clear disbelief. He wished he had the courage to reach out and brush his fingers against the lines in Sasuke's forehead to smooth them out, but he was afraid of disturbing him as well as overstepping a line he wasn't entirely sure he was allowed to cross yet.

As if he felt him looking, Sasuke blinked at the laptop screen, like he had just woken up, and turned his head to meet Naruto's gaze. They stared at each other for a silent second. Then Sasuke sighed and gave his computer a scathing look.

"I'm sorry," he grumbled.

Naruto smiled and gave half a shrug.

"It's okay," he murmured. "Your work's more important."

It didn't seem to placate Sasuke at all and he threw a brief glance at his laptop before promptly shutting it and putting it on the coffee table.

Naruto blinked, bewildered, as Sasuke took a deep breath and turned to him, one of his legs bent with his foot tucked under his other knee. Naruto raised his eyebrows at him in question and the corners of Sasuke's lips tugged faintly. He reached out and cupped Naruto's cheek, his thumb ghosting over his lips, which parted ever so little of their own accord. Naruto turned his head to brush his lips against Sasuke's palm to then reach up, grab his hand, lace their fingers together and bring them to his lap.

"So…" Sasuke murmured.

"So…" Naruto echoed in a whisper.

When silence fell again, he moved a little closer, his knees touching Sasuke's legs, and Sasuke's free hand came up to rest on his thigh, warm and steady. They watched each other, both gauging the other's actions and reactions to the smallest of movements, hesitant and unwilling to overstep boundaries.

Naruto rolled his lips together, hesitating before figuring '_to hell with it!',_ and reached out to cup Sasuke's jaw, pulling him into a kiss. The hand on his thigh gripped harder and Sasuke's other hand came up to rest on his neck, thumb pressing against his jaw.

The movements of their lips were languid and slow, as if they were getting to know each other all over again. And maybe they were. This was a whole new level to the relationship they had had up until a few hours ago and Naruto really hoped it was leading somewhere – that it wasn't just a spur of the moment thing, and that everything wouldn't go back to normal when morning came.

Sasuke's lips moved to mouth against his jaw and Naruto's head fell back to give him easier access, his own hands caressing their way down Sasuke's chest.

"Is this…" Naruto breathed and swallowed harshly, his hands coming to a stop at Sasuke's stomach. "Is this a one time thing?"

Sasuke stilled and pulled back, sending a nervous stutter through Naruto's nerves.

"Do you want it to be?" he murmured, his dark gaze burning into Naruto's.

Sasuke's eyes were closed off and unreadable, a maneuver to protect himself Naruto realized. He couldn't figure out what Sasuke was thinking or what his intentions were at all and he had to avert his gaze. He couldn't look at him with what he was about to confess in fear of rejection.

"No," he whispered. "I don't."

Sasuke let out a breath and Naruto dared a peek at him.

"I don't either," he said softly, the steel in his eyes melting.

Naruto couldn't keep a giddy grin from spreading his lips.

"Yeah?"

Sasuke nodded and pulled him in for another kiss. Naruto moved even closer, half sitting in Sasuke's lap by now, his fingers curling into his shirt. The kiss was short, however, and soon they pulled back to stare at each other again.

"What're we gonna tell Emi?" Naruto asked.

Sasuke was quiet for a moment, his eyes downcast in thought.

"She already treats you like family," he answered slowly. "I don't think she would mind us having a relationship all that much, though she might not completely understand what it means yet."

Heat prickled Naruto's cheeks as he thought about Emi calling him _papa_ and he bit his lip, wondering if he should mention it at all. It was too soon, wasn't it? There really was no reason for Emi to call him anything other than _Na-chan_.

Of course, Sasuke chose to look back up at him before he could decide, and the decision was made for him.

"What is it?" he asked.

"Uh, well…" Naruto hedged. "This morning Emi kinda… insisted on calling me papa, and, uh, I told her not to, because I didn't know how you would take it."

Sasuke's eyes narrowed and Naruto could practically hear the gears turning in his head before realization took over his features.

"Oh," he murmured.

Naruto nodded.

"But, you know," Naruto quickly added, "she has no reason to call me that. I think she doesn't realize what it implies, either."

Sasuke raised his eyebrows and opened his mouth but, after a moment of consideration, seemed to decide not to answer and closed it again.

"So… yeah…" Naruto said slowly, worrying his bottom lip. This would be as a good a moment as any to bring up what he really wanted to tell Sasuke. He took a breath and opened his mouth, but somehow he couldn't quite bring himself to start and what came out instead was: "Maybe you should get back to work?"

Sasuke tilted his head a little but nodded and, after leaning in and giving Naruto a quick kiss, turned to pull his laptop into his lap. He opened it and waited for it to load and, out of nowhere, Naruto had a sudden burst of courage to try again.

"Hey, Sasuke?" he said.

He looked at him.

"Yes?"

"Well… you told me something really important about your past, right?" Naruto continued, his stomach rolling and his hands turning clammy. It really shouldn't be this hard.

Sasuke's face hardened.

"I did," he agreed.

"So, I think it would be fair if I told you something about my past," Naruto swallowed, "don't you?"

This made Sasuke turn back to him and give him his full attention.

"I mean, it's weird you don't know it already, since I assume you made a background check on me and everything," he began babbling. "But you haven't said anything or asked anything, so it makes me wonder. But then again you might think it's a sensitive subject, which it's not – okay, yes it is, but not _that_ sensitive–"

"Naruto," Sasuke interrupted him with a sigh. "What in the world are you going on about?"

"Uhm," Naruto cleared his throat. "My past? Which you should already know about?"

Sasuke frowned.

"Sakura handled everything with your interview and employment, since I was busier than normal with work at the time," he confessed, his expression a little befuddled. "I never actually did check you myself. Apparently I forgot."

"Oh…" Naruto mumbled. "Huh…"

A warm hand landed on his knee and Naruto looked down at it before meeting Sasuke's eyes.

"Naruto," he said. "It doesn't matter anyway. You proved to be so much more than I expected and I'm already falling in love with yo–"

Sasuke stopped abruptly, his eyes wide and his mouth slightly ajar. Naruto mirrored his expression, too shocked to make a sound. Sasuke was _in love_ with him? He wouldn't have thought it had gone that far yet. Attraction? Yes. Crush? Very likely, if the events of the past few hours were any indication. But in love? That was something he hadn't expected until later.

Suddenly the hand on Naruto's knee disappeared and Sasuke looked like a deer caught in headlights, his face pink, which caught Naruto completely by surprise. He'd never seen Sasuke blush. He was always calculated and composed. Well, in appearance, anyway. Apparently there was a lot more going on inside his head and this was the first time it showed.

Sasuke cleared his throat, not meeting his eyes.

"It's late, isn't it?" he asked. "We should go to bed. You have class tomorrow and I have work. And…"

His voice died out when Naruto's fingers found his and laced them together. He looked up at him and Naruto smiled, his entire body abuzz with butterflies and tingles.

"Are you embarrassed?" Naruto asked.

Sasuke scoffed indignantly, but there definitely was a steady rise of faint color to his cheeks.

"I'm never embarrassed," he muttered.

Naruto burst out laughing.

"Oh, you _so_ are!" he chortled. "You're always so level headed, even awkward at times, but never embarrassed!"

Sasuke grumbled something unintelligible and Naruto couldn't help but laugh harder.

"This is great!" he gasped.

"Absolutely wonderful," Sasuke muttered.

Naruto's fingertips grazed against the color on his cheekbone and Sasuke looked at him, his eyes narrowing at his grin.

"Are you making fun of me?" he asked and Naruto shook his head.

"No." He kissed him softly. "You're cute."

Sasuke scoffed again and crossed his arms.

"What was it you wanted to tell me?" he changed the subject quite successfully and Naruto's smile fell.

Sasuke sat up a little straighter, all embarrassment washed away form his face, replaced by concern.

"Oh, well…" Naruto hesitated. "I'm an orphan."

Sasuke blinked at him, opening his and closing his mouth, looking a little startled. Naruto took that as a sign to continue.

"Uh, you see, my parents apparently died in a robbery gone bad when I was five months old," he told him quietly. "I grew up in an orphanage. The patrons weren't very nice, though I wasn't exactly a poster kid. But the other kids and I; we were close, though they saw me more as their protector than a friend. It was always really hard for me when a kid got adopted, because I knew they would soon forget about me, they were so young. But, still, I was happy for the ones who got out of the system."

"Were you… ever adopted?" Sasuke asked softly.

Naruto shook his head, a forlorn smile on his lips.

"No, I caused the patrons so much trouble they never put in a good word for me when couples came to find a child and then I grew too old. Couples want small, cute kids not rowdy, pubescent children," he confessed. "I stayed in the orphanage until I was sixteen and got a job. I found a small studio apartment and moved out once my first paycheck came. And when I entered college I even left the small town I used to live in to come here, to the big city." Naruto smiled.

Sasuke frowned.

"Oh…" he said softly.

Naruto bit his lip, nervousness coiling in his stomach again, and he fiddled with his fingers.

"It's just... I-I… this is one of the very few times I feel accepted as part of something, like I won't be forgotten or overlooked. The only other times have been with my friends. Though this situation is completely different than with my friends, and, to be honest, I'm a little scared I'll mess up," Naruto said in one breath, forcing himself to stop to get some oxygen back in his system.

Sasuke's frown deepened.

"Why would you mess it up?" he asked.

Naruto gave a faint, crooked smile.

"Because, I feel like a part of a family when I'm with Emi and you and even Itachi. A _real,_ live family. And I have no experience with that."

Head tilted, Sasuke watched him thoughtfully for a silent moment. Naruto had a hard time meeting his gaze and stared down at his fiddling thumbs instead. Then a finger gently raised his chin and he had no choice but to look into Sasuke's dark eyes, so close he could almost see his own reflected back at him.

"Then we'll teach you," came the answer, as if it were the simplest of things. "Emi and I and maybe even my brother."

The grin that spread on Naruto's lips made his cheeks hurt, but in a good way. In a way that meant happiness.

* * *

Sasuke sighed as he stared up at his moonlit ceiling.

He had been unsuccessfully trying to sleep for three hours now, but he couldn't get the tingles in his stomach to go away and the memory of the feeling of Naruto's lips against his wouldn't subside either, though they had stopped kissing hours ago.

His cheeks strained and he realized he was smiling. Well, actually, he was outright grinning. Sasuke cleared his throat and turned onto his stomach, shoving his face into his pillow.

It was such a new feeling, being giddy like this. There were instances he had thought he'd been in love before, when he was a teenager. He realized now it had only been passing, juvenile attractions. Being in love was not thinking someone was good looking or hot – though Naruto didn't look bad by any means. Being in love was feeling safe with the other person, wanting to protect them, wishing to be by their side, make them smile and laugh and happy.

And Sasuke wanted that with Naruto. More than he had realized. Especially now that he knew no one had been there for him all these years.

He sighed and turned his head to breathe properly.

His chest had tightened a little once he had heard about how Naruto had been treated. Not that he thought he was Naruto's savior in any way, shape or form, but he wanted to give him a family. A real one. And he hoped he and Emi could be the family Naruto wanted.

He really was in deep now, wasn't he?

His sleep was restless in the good way that night. Like a child waiting for Christmas day and falling asleep with excitement, only to wake up and hardly manage to stay still, jittery with anticipation.

He fiddled around in the kitchen once he had dressed. Neither Emi nor Naruto had woken up yet, so Sasuke occupied himself with setting the table for breakfast while trying not to give in to the urge to go wake either one of them up so he wouldn't go stir crazy.

Thankfully, he didn't have to wait long before the sound of small feet padded overhead, followed by a careful descent of the stairs. He smiled a little to himself as he listened to his daughter make her way to the kitchen.

"Daddy!" she greeted him cheerfully once she rounded the corner to the kitchen.

Her hair was a giant bird's nest and Sasuke was secretly glad Naruto would be the one to brush it. He had always been bad at taking care of his daughter's hair, and often hurt her while he tried to detangle it.

He picked Emi up when she came to a stop beside him and looked up expectantly, setting her on the counter and kissing her forehead.

"Good morning," he said.

Grinning, she leaned forward to hug him around the neck and press a kiss to his cheek.

"Daddy," she said seriously. "Will you marry Na-chan today?"

Sasuke sighed. Although he couldn't deny their relationship was changing drastically, they were nowhere near the stage of marrying yet. Not that they could anyway.

"Why do you want me to marry him?" he asked.

Emi shrugged and avoided his eyes, but he put a finger under her chin and raised her face.

"Emi," he pressed.

"I wanna call Na-chan papa," she mumbled, still avoiding his eyes. "I want him to be my dad too. Then I have two parents, like everyone else."

Sasuke swallowed and pulled her into another hug. Though he wouldn't avoid entering a relationship with Naruto, he still was unsure how he should tell Emi about it. She didn't know what she was asking. She wasn't aware of all the bad things out in the world and simply wanted to keep those she loved close as well as have a second parent, even though it was a man.

And because of it, if Naruto and he weren't careful, the world would hurt her deeply. Of course Sasuke knew she would eventually be hurt some way or another when she was old enough, but he didn't want hate to be directed at her because of something that concerned him when she was this young and naïve.

"Good morning," came Naruto's voice, startling both Sasuke and Emi. They looked over to a concerned Naruto in the doorway.

"Good morning Na-chan!" Emi greeted happily.

Naruto smiled at her before his eyes shifted to Sasuke, gaze questioning.

"Is everything all right?"

"Yes," Sasuke said, his voice a lot more hoarse than he'd anticipated. He cleared his throat and squeezed Emi tight once before he let her down. "Breakfast is on the table."

Naruto looked like he wanted to ask but Sasuke shook his head minutely. He saw Naruto swallow nervously and force another smile at Emi while he helped her into her chair. The hesitant way Naruto moved around him to get to the fridge, not quite looking at him, made Sasuke realize that maybe Naruto thought he had changed his mind about them. So when Naruto opened the fridge to take out the jug of orange juice, he leaned in and pressed a kiss to the corner of his mouth.

Naruto stilled and threw a wide-eyed look at him, which quickly turned worried. Sasuke smiled a little and nodded at the open refrigerator door, blocking them from Emi's view. Naruto shook his head with a snort and punched him lightly in the shoulder.

"Idiot," he muttered.

Sasuke smiled a little wider and stepped around him to sit down beside his daughter.

Breakfast went smoothly as Emi apparently decided she wouldn't pester Sasuke about marriage in front of Naruto, which he was quite grateful for. He had no idea how he would explain that one at the moment, since they really just progressed yesterday. He'd rather not scare Naruto away so soon. Or ever really.

"Na-chan," Emi said when she finished her breakfast and they both looked at her. "I want row corner braids today," she announced.

Naruto looked bewildered for a moment and glanced at Sasuke, but Sasuke really had no idea what she meant so he simply shrugged. Then comprehension replaced Naruto's confusion and he laughed.

"You mean corn-row?" he asked and Emi nodded.

"Yeah!"

"Okay, go try brush your hair and I'll be there as soon as I've eaten my breakfast," he told her and Emi slid from her chair to run upstairs.

Sasuke raised his eyebrows at Naruto.

"You actually get her to brush her hair by herself?" he asked. "Willingly?"

Emi knew how to brush her hair, but she often refused and if Sasuke or Sakura hadn't done it for her she would just let it be until it became so tangled only copious amounts of hair conditioner would ever get it sorted. Which was another battle altogether, since Emi thought it was a hassle to wash her hair as well.

It was Naruto's turn to shrug, though he was smiling fondly.

"I told her that if she wanted nice hairdos every day, she would have to be a responsible little girl and keep her hair tidy," he chuckled. "Though I still help her with the big clusters of hair, she mostly does it by herself now. She doesn't even complain about washing it."

Sasuke's chest grew all warm and he couldn't help the smile spreading on his lips. Naruto bit his lip through his own grin and drank the last of his orange juice before he stood, took his and Emi's dishes and put them in the sink. On the way back he stopped by Sasuke's side, pulled a hand through his hair and tilted his head back to press a kiss to his lips. Sasuke's hand came up to rest on his hip and he hummed, feeling Naruto smile into the kiss, the taste of orange juice lingering on his lips. Normally Sasuke didn't like juice because it was too sweet and artificial, but he could get used to kisses like these.

Then Itachi honked from outside and they pulled apart, Sasuke groaning and Naruto laughing.

"He has the worst timing, I swear," Sasuke grumbled.

After pulling his hand through Sasuke's hair a last time, Naruto stepped back, eyes dancing with amusement.

"I don't think it's bad timing," he said. "Just us forgetting the time."

"Maybe." Sasuke shook his head with a sigh.

"Come on." Naruto grabbed his hand and pulled him out of his seat, out of the kitchen and up the stairs.

After grabbing his things from his home office, stopping by Emi's room to give her a kiss on her forehead and sharing a small smile with Naruto, Sasuke made his way downstairs again and out, his steps feeling light.

"Good morning?" Itachi asked as he drove down the driveway once Sasuke had made himself comfortable in the passenger seat and put his seatbelt on, throwing him a considering look.

Sasuke shrugged and turned his face towards the window to hide the giddiness he was sure was showing on his face.

"Not any different than normal," he answered.

Itachi was silent, which was unusual, and Sasuke chanced a glance at him. He was frowning at the road ahead of him. Then his face cleared and he looked over at Sasuke, breaking into a grin.

"You didn't," he laughed.

Sasuke blinked.

"What?"

Itachi laughed.

"Well, I'm happy if you are, little brother," he chuckled. "Although, you _have_ been smiling since you exited the house, so I guess I don't really have to worry about it."

Sasuke could feel his face begin to warm up and he sighed.

"How do you know?" he asked.

Itachi grinned.

"You forget one very important thing, Sasuke," he said sagely. "I'm your brother. I know how to read you. It's also been increasingly easier to see your emotions ever since Naruto came into the picture, which is quite delightful."

Sasuke closed his eyes and leaned his head back against the headrest, but his lips couldn't keep from stretching into a smile. Yeah, Naruto was _delightful_.

"Oh my, you're in love," Itachi teased.

"Whatever," Sasuke dismissed him, but the smile stayed all the way to the office.

* * *

**Hey, so... it's been some time, hasn't it? I'm sorry, but I've been crazy busy and just had to put off writing for a while. I still plan to finish this story, though, so don't worry! It might just take some time.**

**I hope you liked this update at least! Even though I feel like it's not really interesting. But I guess not all chapters can be, haha**

**Anyway, see you in the next chapter!**

**Bye!**


	11. Chapter 11

**11\. Emi's One Wish and The One Shared Bed**

The rest of the week at university wasn't as awful as Naruto had feared. Sure, he would never go back to the campus cafeteria again after having been swarmed by people either asking him a million and one questions about Sasuke and the rest of the Uchihas or giving him the stink eye and dropping awful comments with self-satisfied smirks, as if they had accomplished something great only they apparently knew of.

Not sitting in the cafeteria wasn't a great loss in Naruto's opinion, though.

His friends had continued keeping an eye on him, to which he was both grateful and frustrated. But he wouldn't complain. He had other things to worry about – like the midterms in about two weeks.

Studying had been almost all he had done as soon as he got home. He usually gave Emi something to color or watch as he sat for hours pouring over his books. She only interrupted his studies if she absolutely needed, and he loved her for it. She was smart for her age.

"Na-chan," Emi said that Friday evening after hours of silence.

They were in the living room, Naruto on the floor in front of the coffee table for his daily midterms studying; Emi on the couch, watching some cartoon Naruto couldn't care less about at the moment.

"Mh?" he hummed distracted, highlighting another sentence in his book that looked important.

Emi slid off the cushions to take a seat beside him and lean into his side. Naruto absentmindedly put his free arm around her in a loose hug and they sat in comfortable silence for another moment.

"Why can't you be my papa?" she finally asked.

Naruto's concentration on what he was reading came to a screeching halt and he blinked at his book before looking at her. She watched him, unwavering, patiently waiting for his excuses.

He sighed and pulled her into his lap, putting both arms around her.

She had been asking the same thing everyday since she had gotten the idea into her head and he really didn't know what to say to her anymore. Whatever he tried telling her fell flat, like '_My name's Na-chan_', '_Na-chan's cooler'_, and '_You already have a father_', and she didn't seem to buy any of it.

It was also a conversation he hadn't had with Sasuke yet. If she referred to him as 'papa' people outside the safety of the house could hurt her.

He and Sasuke had meant to have a discussion about it, but as Sasuke had been home late from work that week due to some new business deal, looking exhausted and tense, and Naruto was concentrating on his studies, they hadn't had the time to talk properly about what they would say to Emi. They barely managed to catch other, and when they did there were only quick kisses before going to work, school or bed.

Naruto kind of wanted to ask Sasuke if they could sleep in the same bed, because, really, they hadn't seen much of each other the entire week, but he was too worried he'd cross a boundary. Maybe Sasuke wanted to take things slow, for the sake of Emi.

Naruto sighed which made Emi look up at him and he caressed her hair, smiling softly. Maybe he should just try telling her the truth for once?

"You can't call me papa because there are people who don't like it when someone has two dads or two moms," Naruto explained as gently as he could.

Emi frowned.

"Why?" she asked.

"I don't know," he said with a shrug. "Because they think it's wrong and not natural. And if they hear you call me papa when you already have a dad they might hurt you or say mean things to you and make you feel bad. Your dad and I don't want that to happen, so it would be best if I'm just Na-chan."

Emi's frown deepened and she turned around to settle against Naruto's chest.

"But Na-chan loves daddy," Emi stated. "And daddy loves Na-chan."

Naruto stilled.

"Uh–," he hesitated.

"I saw Na-chan kiss daddy yesterday," Emi elaborated. "It means you love each other."

Naruto could feel his cheeks heat up and he bit his lip. It must have been when he had followed Sasuke to the door to say goodbye since that was the only time they had managed to catch a moment alone. He hadn't noticed Emi had left the kitchen; she had still been in her chair at the table when he returned.

"Emi," he muttered. "It's not nice to spy on people."

Emi ignored him as she laughed at something on the TV, apparently having deemed the conversation over. Naruto shook his head at her and tilted his book so he could continue reading it over her head.

They returned to their previous peaceful silence and sat like that until Naruto's stomach made a loud noise, startling both of them.

Emi turned wide eyes to him and he laughed a little.

"I'm hungry. Do you want to eat?" he asked.

When she nodded he gathered her in his arms and nuzzled her cheek, drawing giggles from her, before he stood up to make his way over to the kitchen.

"So, what do you want to eat today?" Naruto asked as he deposited her on the counter for their usual kitchen routine where he cooked and sang and danced and Emi made all the song requests and taste tested the food.

She thought for a moment as Naruto moved about cleaning the counter of dried dishes, then her face lit up.

"Pasketti!"

Naruto burst out laughing.

"It's spa-ghetti, baby," he chortled and put away a bowl.

"Spa-ghetti," Emi repeated. "I want spa-ghetti. With tomatoes! Daddy likes tomatoes!"

"Okay," Naruto smiled and pulled out the pasta pot. "Spaghetti with tomatoes it is then."

He brought out all the ingredients he needed and set to work, already taking song requests from Emi, which ended up with him singing one song over and over again since it was her favorite at the moment. She sang along with the few lines she knew and Naruto pretended the wooden spoon he used for the tomato sauce was a microphone as he held it out for her to sing into.

Soon the song ended for the twentieth time and Naruto patiently waited for her next request as he pulled out plates and cutlery, already knowing it was going to be the same song again. But the request never came and he frowned at the plates he placed on the table.

"If it's at home, can I call you papa?" Emi said at last just as Naruto began placing the cutlery. His movements faltered a little and his grip on the fork currently in his hand tightened. "We don't have bad people here."

He straightened and turned to her, which was a mistake, because once he saw her hopeful face he couldn't find it in him to continue refusing her. If it only were at home it would be okay, right? Or maybe he should wait until Sasuke and he had established what they would tell Emi.

He hesitated for another moment and Emi's face began to fall. The sight of it made Naruto's heart clench.

"Okay," he sighed. "But only at home."

She broke into a big, radiant smile and kicked her legs happily.

"Then we're a real family now," she declared brightly. "I finally have two parents!"

Naruto smiled a little though there was a small twinge in his chest. He hadn't known two parents was something Emi wanted that badly. Though it shouldn't be so surprising considering all the children around her had two parents. Of course she would want that too. God knows how much Naruto himself had yearned for parents – _any_ parent – when he was her age.

He decided right then he'd do his damndest to be a good parent if that was what Emi wanted him to be even if it scared him a little at the same time. He knew nothing about being a dad; he'd never had one as a reference. Also, he really should speak to Sasuke about it, because their relationship was still quite new, he shouldn't be taking liberties.

"Let's eat," he said to distract himself from his thoughts and helped Emi down from the counter.

She grinned up at him and obediently made her way over to her chair by the table. Naruto followed and served up some spaghetti and tomato sauce for her.

They ate in peace for about ten minutes with mostly Emi talking about her day at the kindergarten and Naruto giving his input where it was required. Just as she was describing how she and her two friends, Yuki and Kousuke, had finger-painted flowers on one of the walls because of some art project the entire kindergarten was participating in, the front door opened. Emi stopped talking abruptly and both of them listened to Sasuke shuffling in the foyer before his footsteps sounded down the hall and he appeared in the doorway to the kitchen. He looked as exhausted as ever but he smiled faintly at the sight of them.

"Welcome home daddy!" Emi greeted him.

"I'm home," he answered and entered to kiss the top of her head. Then he looked up at Naruto and gave him another soft smile.

"Welcome home," Naruto said, smiling back.

"I'm home. What are you eating?" Sasuke asked.

"Papa made spa-ghetti," Emi told him and dug into her food again.

Sasuke looked at Naruto with raised eyebrows and mouthed '_papa_'. Biting his lip, Naruto pulled one shoulder up in an _I-didn't-know-what-to-do_-motion and Sasuke let out a small snort.

Well, at least he didn't seem to think it was bad.

"And tomatoes," Emi added proudly, completely missing their little exchange. "I told papa you like tomatoes, daddy."

"Thank you, Emi," Sasuke said, giving her hair a caress.

He shrugged off his suit jacket and hung it across the back of his chair, removed his tie and placed it on top of the jacket, and rolled up his sleeves before sitting down at the table and piling some food on his plate. The entire thing made Naruto's heart do a little weird hop-skip-thing and he really wanted to lean over and press a kiss to Sasuke's lips.

He resisted the urge though, and took a large bite of his spaghetti instead.

Once Sasuke began eating as well, Emi continued retelling her day from the beginning so Sasuke would be brought up to speed on what she had been telling Naruto when he had come through the door.

Sasuke's full attention was on her, though he looked as if he could fall asleep any moment, and it warmed Naruto's heart, like it did every time Sasuke put Emi in the center of his world.

Soon Emi's story ended and Sasuke turned to Naruto. He opened his mouth to say something but it was lost when Emi let out an enormous yawn.

"Oh wow," Naruto chuckled. "Someone's tired."

"It _is _time to go to bed," Sasuke said, glancing at the clock as Emi rubbed the tears from the yawn out of her eyes. "It's already way past your bedtime and we have the family barbeque tomorrow."

Emi lit up.

"Then papa will meet everyone!" she said.

Naruto smiled at her but threw a nervous glance at Sasuke, who gave him a quick look as well, though it was hard to decipher if it was supposed to be reassuring or apologetic.

"He will," Sasuke agreed and Emi let out another yawn, prompting Sasuke to do the same.

"Okay," Naruto said. "I guess it's bedtime for _both_ of you."

Sasuke narrowed his eyes at him.

"I wanna read a story before bed," Emi said.

"Want to, Emi," Sasuke corrected.

Both Naruto and Emi grimaced and she scowled at her plate. Sasuke blinked at them questioningly.

"Spa-ghetti," she muttered. "Want to."

Naruto chuckled a little.

"Don't mind it," he said with a sly glance at Sasuke. "If you wanna say wanna, then do it. As long as you write it properly in the future."

Emi gave an understanding nod and Sasuke shook his head at him, though a small smile tugged at his lips.

"Well, proper education…" he began but trailed off to then sigh as Emi slipped off her chair, clearly not listening to him now that she'd gotten the go ahead from Naruto. Instead, he muttered, so quietly Naruto barely heard it: "Until you learn to write I'll allow it."

Naruto laughed lightly and Sasuke shot him a look of exasperation, before returning his attention to Emi who was now grabbing at his arm.

"Daddy, can you read with me?" she asked.

Sasuke glanced at his half-eaten plate and Naruto stood up. He knew she had missed him during the week, but Sasuke had apparently not eaten properly that day, judging by how he eyed his food.

"Tell you what, Emi," Naruto said. "Why don't you and I go get ready for bed and then your dad can come and read with you?"

Emi let go of Sasuke's arm to grab Naruto's hand instead.

"Okay," she agreed.

Naruto sent a small smile at Sasuke, who returned it with one of his own, and led Emi out of the kitchen and up the stairs.

* * *

It had been a hectic week.

Sasuke had no idea how he had gotten so busy, it was just a business deal, something he had been through a hundred times already, but he had barely found time to do anything besides work, eat and sleep.

Which was irritating, seeing as how he had progressed in his relationship with Naruto. Normally he would be annoyed because he saw so little of Emi during times like these, but now he missed _two_ people instead of one.

Nor did it help that he was more cautious of the media than usual since he had gotten calls from an unknown number during the past three days. He couldn't trace it as it was anonymous and it put him on edge. Who was the person calling him and _how_ had they gotten his number? It should be nearly impossible to find.

Emi let out a heavy sigh in her sleep, which brought Sasuke out of his thoughts. He watched her for a moment, love filling his chest. Then he stood heavily and put away the book they had been reading. He made sure the cover was tucked around her properly before he kissed her forehead and turned off the lights. He left the door open the slightest on his way out and made his way down the stairs to the living room, stopping in the doorway.

Naruto was sprawled out on the couch, having sunk so low half his body was nearly on the floor. He blinked slowly at the TV-screen, as if he was trying his hardest to keep his eyes open, though it looked as if it became harder and harder for him each time he closed them.

A sound must have escaped Sasuke because Naruto looked over at him and grinned sleepily before straightening himself up to sit properly.

"Hey," he said as Sasuke approached and sat down beside him. "I was trying to find some news but there's only commercial on every channel."

Sasuke glanced at the TV and settled deeper into the cushions of the couch.

"Just leave it on this channel," he said. "There is usually news on it."

"Okay," Naruto said and yawned.

They were quiet for a moment as they watched a car zoom across the screen to some beat-heavy music. Peace settled over Sasuke. His shoulders relaxed, his breathing deepened and he felt all the tension that had accumulated throughout the day trickle away.

Somewhere in the middle of the commercial Naruto's head slid down to rest on Sasuke's shoulder. Sasuke smiled a little to himself and, after a second of hesitating, moved his hand to grab Naruto's and interlace their fingers. He felt more than saw Naruto smile.

"So, you gave in to Emi?" Sasuke murmured when another commercial began.

"Hm?" Naruto hummed, before he seemed to realize what Sasuke meant. "Oh, yeah… she told me she wanted to have two parents just like everyone else, and I just couldn't say no. Especially since that was all I ever wished for when I was her age."

Sasuke's chest got tighter for a moment and he squeezed Naruto's hand.

"But she promised only to use it at home," Naruto continued. "Where no one can hurt her. Is… is that okay? I mean, I didn't mean to just assume it was okay to be her parent, but–"

"No that's not the issue," Sasuke interrupted. "I'm just worried about what the rest of the world will do to either of you if they ever find out."

The fingers of Naruto's other hand traced small patterns into the back of Sasuke's.

"Yeah, I'm a little worried for Emi, too," Naruto murmured. "But I'll be fine, whatever they say about me. As long as you and Emi are there."

Sasuke hummed and Naruto raised his head to look at him. Sasuke met his eyes steadily.

"I'm worried I won't be a good parent, though," he whispered. "I really have nothing to go off here and I'm afraid I'll make everything a mess. What if she ends up hating me? Or changes her mind? What if–"

Sasuke raised his free hand to cup the back of Naruto's head and pull him into a kiss. Naruto responded easily, pressing closer, but it didn't take long before he pulled back to continue what he had been saying before.

"It's not going to happen," Sasuke said, cutting off whatever he was about to say. "It's already been a few months and not once have you done anything to make either of us hate you or change our minds."

Chewing on his lip, Naruto looked away. Sasuke brought up their linked hands to brush his lips against Naruto's knuckles, which made Naruto look back at him with a soft smile.

"We should go to bed," Sasuke murmured against his skin. "We're both tired and you'll have to deal with my entire family for the most part of tomorrow."

He saw Naruto swallow nervously before he nodded. Sasuke snorted and stood, pulling him with him.

"They're not dangerous," he said. "Just a little pushy."

Naruto let out a weak chuckle.

"Right," he said.

Sasuke smirked at him and picked up the remote, turning the TV off just as the news came on. There was a picture of a vaguely familiar face on the screen, but Sasuke didn't have the energy to place it at the moment. It was most likely one of Uchiha Corp's business partners. He almost always saw one of them on the news, and they were in the middle of a new deal with another company, so it wasn't very surprising to see someone familiar on the TV.

He put the remote back on the coffee table and pulled Naruto with him up the stairs. They paused at the top for a moment, both a little unsure how to proceed. Naruto's door was just to the right and Sasuke's was down the hall, across from his office.

He had wanted to ask Naruto to share his bed for a few nights now, but hadn't had the time or the courage to actually do it. Judging by the hesitation on Naruto's face he felt the same.

It was as well; because Sasuke couldn't find it in himself to let go of his hand and leave. So instead he wordlessly pulled Naruto along, down the hall, and to his room, smiling a little at the surprised gasp coming from behind him.

"I-I don't h-have my pajamas," Naruto stammered, voice breathless, as the bedroom door shut behind him. Then his cheeks darkened. "U-unless you were th-thinking–"

Sasuke shook his head with a small laugh and went over to his closet to pull out a t-shirt and sweatpants.

"I think we're both too tired. Here," he said and tossed them to Naruto.

He caught them and stared as if he had never seen such clothes before. Then he looked up at Sasuke, who couldn't quite meet his eyes and stared somewhere above his eyebrows.

"I didn't feel like letting you leave my side," he admitted softly and his face felt warm.

He saw Naruto hide a grin as he looked down at the clothes again.

"You really are cute," he commented and put the clothes on the bed.

Sasuke opened his mouth to protest, but was rendered speechless as Naruto proceeded to pull his shirt over his head. He couldn't help but stare at the exposed skin, heat stirring in his stomach, and Naruto grinned.

"Am I making you uncomfortable?" he asked, sounding much more confident than he had just a minute ago.

Sasuke met his gaze steadily this time.

"No," he answered, his voice coming out low and gravelly.

This time it was Naruto's turn to blush but, to Sasuke's surprise, he didn't shy away. Instead he walked up to him, standing so close he could feel his breath on his lips. Keeping their eyes locked, he reached down to grab Sasuke's hands and guided them to his waist.

Sasuke wasn't slow in getting the hint and let his fingers wander over Naruto's warm, soft skin, tracing invisible patterns and leaving goose bumps. Naruto's breath stuttered every now and then but otherwise he stood perfectly still, his eyes following the movements of Sasuke's fingers.

When he was done, his hands back at Naruto's waist, Naruto leaned in and caught his lips in a gentle kiss while he began undoing the buttons of Sasuke's shirt. Sasuke's heart skipped a beat and he wondered if Naruto was going to take things further than either of them had planned, but Naruto simply let the shirt slide to the floor before he kissed him again, pressing their bodies close for skin on skin contact.

"We should really go to bed," Naruto murmured against his lips.

Sasuke nodded, but couldn't bring himself to stop kissing Naruto. He buried his hands in Naruto's hair to keep him close and it seemed Naruto had no plans of ending the kiss either. His arms settled around Sasuke's waist to pull him closer and he could feel Naruto's lips turn up in a smile.

They needed to breathe eventually, so Sasuke pulled back only to rest their foreheads together.

"It's been a long week," he sighed and Naruto chuckled.

"Yeah, but weekends are for resting," he said.

"There'll be no resting until tomorrow's over," Sasuke muttered which made Naruto laugh.

"Come on," he chortled and untangled himself from Sasuke's arms. "Let's go to bed."

Sasuke nodded and grabbed his hand to pull him along to the bathroom. Soon they were curled around each other in bed and Sasuke wasn't sure he had ever had such a peaceful night's sleep.

* * *

**Another chapter :) I'm sorry it took so long! I haven't proof read any of it, just so you know.**

**You guys are great, you know that? I try to answer all the comments, but sometimes I just forget, especially those that come later. I'll try and be better, but if I don't answer it's not because the comment sucks, I'm just forgetful is all. I do read all of them!**

**And also, critique is good, those of you that have given me any. I just want to say, though, that I know Sasuke isn't the same moody, broody type of person he is in the manga, but that's because he's led a completely different life in this universe. I think that would make him a little different, right? Same goes for Naruto.**

**And! To the person who made the pancake analogy, thank you. That had me chuckling for a while and I don't know why I found it so funny, but it still makes me smile when I think of it.**

**Anyway, sorry to bother you with all this nonsense! I just wanted to point those things out!**

**See you guys in the next chapter!**


	12. Chapter 12

**A Large Mansion and A Nerve-Wracking Meeting**

"Relax, Naruto," Sasuke muttered underneath Emi's chattering.

Naruto, who had been staring out the window dazedly, shoulders tense and fingers fiddling incessantly, jumped a little and turned to him. Sasuke glanced in his direction before focusing on the road again.

They were in the car on their way to his parents' house. They had left about an hour ago and it was already close to noon. Sasuke and Itachi were supposed to be there to help prepare before the rest of the family came but they were running a bit late because Emi hadn't wanted to wash her hair, for whatever reason Sasuke simply couldn't fathom. It had taken both him and Naruto about half an hour to coax her into the bathtub and then another half an hour to actually get her washed and dried.

"I'm relaxed," Naruto murmured back.

Sasuke pointedly glanced down at his hands.

"Hn," was the only thing he let out.

Naruto narrowed his eyes.

"Okay, maybe I _am_ a bit nervous," he said and crossed his arms instead. "What's so weird about that?"

Sasuke shook his head, catching sight of Emi in the rearview mirror now watching their exchange silently.

"There's still about an hour before we actually arrive," he said. "Are you going to be tense the entire ride there? You'll be exhausted before the barbeque even begins."

Naruto bit his lip and looked away.

"Naruto–," Sasuke began but was interrupted by Emi.

"Daddy!" she exclaimed as if a thought had just struck her. "Our family is not bad people, right?"

Sasuke frowned.

"No, they're not, princess," he answered. "Why?"

"Because I can tell them about papa then," she said, as if it were obvious.

Out of the corner of his eye, Sasuke saw Naruto's head whip around, his mouth open and his cheeks growing pink. He smiled a little to himself and looked at his daughter in the rearview mirror.

For Sasuke it really didn't matter if his family knew or not. No one had objected to the relationship of his father's uncle, he doubted they'd make a fuss now. Although, they might be a little nervous about it because of what had happened in the past. But they could either handle it or mind their own business, Sasuke reasoned.

Which meant it was up to Naruto really, if he would feel comfortable letting everyone know or not. Their relationship was fairly new, so it would be understandable if Naruto weren't ready to let his family know yet.

"Well… Naruto?" he asked.

Naruto looked at him and hesitated.

"Won't they think it's weird?" he asked.

"No," Sasuke said at the same time Emi asked: "Why?"

Naruto smiled a little at her and turned back to the front.

"Nothing, baby," he said. "You tell your family whatever you want."

"Okay," she said.

Apparently she deemed that discussion over because she launched into a detailed explanation of exactly how the barbeque was going to be, what would be served and grilled and all the food she was going to eat. Sasuke had no idea where his daughter got her love for food from, but he certainly didn't mind. It meant she was eating most everything, including vegetables children usually despised, and it was rather amusing as well to see how her face would light up at the sight or mention of food.

He glanced at Naruto again and saw his hands were now wringing together in agitation and he was also chewing on his lip so relentlessly Sasuke was afraid it might bleed. He reached over and let his fingertips gently touch his cheek which made Naruto release his lip and look at him. Then he smiled softly and grabbed Sasuke's hand with both of his only to lower them to his lap and interlace their fingers.

It seemed enough to calm him down some and the air in the car became somewhat peaceful. After about twenty minutes they realized some of it was due to Emi being quiet and Sasuke looked in the rearview mirror again to find her sleeping with her head hanging forward. Naruto laughed quietly and let go of Sasuke's hand in order to reach back and move her head to lean against the headrest of her car seat so her neck wouldn't hurt.

They spent the rest of the ride in comfortable silence. Sasuke would occasionally catch Naruto's eye and receive a small smile, which he returned with one of his own, but otherwise they both simply watched the scenery outside turn from skyscrapers to fields, trees and the occasional villa.

"Emi," Sasuke said as he turned onto the road his parents lived on. She didn't stir so he raised his voice a little. "Emi. We're here."

She mumbled something but didn't seem to have woken up and Sasuke sighed.

"Let her sleep until we've actually parked," Naruto murmured. "It can't hurt. She'll be rested for the party at least."

Sasuke gave a nod just as he turned onto the beginning of his parents' driveway. He stopped at the iron gates leading to the grounds of their home and waited for the gatekeeper to check his license plate through the camera on top of it. Soon the gates opened and he drove up the redbrick driveway. Naruto drew in a small breath as they drove along the lush, green stretches of lawn and gardens visible through the trees lining the road.

"What do you do with all this space?" he asked, sounding incredulous.

Sasuke shrugged.

"Most of it are gardens," he said. "My father loves gardens. There are also a few bungalows for guests in the back. And a pool."

Naruto gaped at him.

"Is this a hotel?"

Sasuke snorted.

"No," he said. "It's just a house."

The driveway expanded into a cul de sac with a fountain in the middle and his parents' house looming three stories high behind it. Naruto's mouth opened even further.

"That… that's not a house," he stuttered as he stared up at the light-grey and white stone house. All the windows were dark, but it wasn't surprising as it was the middle of the day. "I think you need to re-evaluate your use of language. That's a _mansion_. Or should it be called a small castle?"

Sasuke laughed lightly and parked beside Itachi's car, which was the only other one in front of the house. His parents must have put their own cars in the garage to make room for all the others that would arrive during the day.

He got out of the car and looked over to the small patio by the front door, trying to see through the pillars holding up the roof over it if his mother had noticed their arrival and come out. There was no one there, however, so he opened Emi's door, gently shaking her awake just as Naruto got out of the car as well.

"We've arrived, Emi," he said and she blinked her eyes open blearily.

Naruto came to stand beside him and look over his shoulder.

"Hey sleepyhead," he greeted her. Sasuke straightened again to move to the trunk and take out the food and utensils he had brought. "Can you unbuckle your seatbelt?"

Sasuke didn't hear her respond, but he guessed she had nodded because Naruto didn't make a move to help her.

"Sasuke!" came a voice from the direction of the house and both he and Naruto looked up.

"Mother," Sasuke greeted back as his mother, a black-haired, fair skinned woman, gracefully descended the white stone steps leading from the patio and approached them. So, she had noticed them.

Once she was close enough she pulled him into a bone crushing hug before pulling back and reaching up to straighten out his hair.

Sasuke sighed but allowed her to fuss for a second. He had learned long ago that she wouldn't stop fussing until she was satisfied, and that it was easier to just let her do it instead of putting up a fight that would end up consuming more time and still give the same outcome.

When she was satisfied with his appearance she turned to a now extremely nervous looking Naruto and appraised him for a second, face blank but eyes intent.

Sasuke knew she was scrutinizing him, just like Itachi usually did with new people. They both had that uncanny ability to make people feel as if they were being x-rayed and they both were extremely good at reading them as well, which made meeting them even more nerve-wracking for new people.

He was about to introduce her to end Naruto's torment, when a smile finally stretched her lips.

"You must be Naruto," she said. "It is nice to finally put a face to the name my husband and oldest son keep mentioning."

A small smile made it onto Naruto's lips as well and he glanced at Sasuke, who gave him a tiny nod.

"It's very nice to meet you too, Mrs. Uchiha," he replied politely and bowed.

Sasuke's mother gave a tinkling laugh and put a hand on Naruto's shoulder to push him up straight again.

"Mikoto is fine," she said before she pulled him into a hug as well.

"Nana," Emi said and his mother let go of Naruto to turn to her.

"Hello, honey," she picked her up and pressed kisses all over her face. "I don't see you enough."

She put Emi on her hip and looked at Sasuke, who was in the process of handing some bags from the trunk over to Naruto.

"Or you. You should call more often Sasuke," she chided. "And invite us to dinner, too. I know you're busier than Itachi, with Emi and everything, but your father and I miss you."

Sasuke took the remaining bags out of the trunk and closed it.

"I know," he said. "I'm sorry."

His mother smiled but didn't push it further and turned to lead the way to the house, asking Emi about kindergarten and what new things she had learned as they walked. Sasuke fell into step beside Naruto, who was once again chewing on his lip, gaze far away. He relocated all the bags to one hand and reached over to let his thumb gently press to his bottom lip. Naruto threw him a startled look but released his lip with a sigh.

"If you don't stop it's going to bleed," Sasuke murmured just as they made their way up the three stairs to the patio and to the still open front doors.

Naruto nodded.

"Fugaku! Itachi! They're here!" his mother called into the house before they even made it past the threshold.

There was no answer and his mother sighed before she put Emi down.

"They're probably already out back," she said. "You can come with me and put all those things in the kitchen first."

She turned to Emi and caressed her hair.

"You go play, honey," she said. "Your uncle has installed a new swing for you in the cherry tree."

Emi's eyes lit up and she took off running deeper into the house on her way out to the back without another word.

"Don't forget to say thank you, Emi!" Sasuke called after her. "And be careful!"

His mother laughed.

"Let her have fun," she said and motioned them to follow her. "Now, come."

* * *

Sasuke's parents' house was massive. Naruto had never seen anything like it and, god, was it intimidating. How did they ever find things in there? How did they ever find _each other_ in there? He was sure that if he didn't have someone to guide him wherever he needed to go in the giant mansion he'd get lost and starve to death before anyone even found him.

He didn't have much time to freak out though, which might have been a good thing because he was sure he wouldn't have been able to get out of the car if he had the chance to fully panic.

Instead he focused on Emi and Sasuke. They were safe and familiar and if he just stuck with them he'd make it out alive.

He was just about to help Emi get out of the car when the voice of a woman called out a happy '_Sasuke!_' and he turned to watch a beautiful lady gracefully descend the steps leading up to the patio of the house.

"Mother," Sasuke answered and Naruto's heart skipped a beat.

He watched nervously as she steadily came closer and pulled Sasuke into a tight hug. He couldn't help but smile when she pulled back to fix Sasuke's hair, and it widened as Sasuke allowed it with a sigh. Then she turned to him and the amusement slipped away, leaving place for nervousness.

Had he brushed his hair today? Or even washed it? Was his shirt buttoned properly? Oh god, he hadn't forgotten pants, had he?

Her previous smile had disappeared and she was now moving her eyes all over his face and clothes as if she were seeing right through him and was deciding if she liked what she saw or not. Naruto decided to stand his ground and meet her gaze. He was sure his nervousness was showing in every cell of his body, but he could at least be honest about it and admit he was intimidated.

Then suddenly Sasuke's mother smiled.

"You must be Naruto," she said. "It is nice to finally put a face to the name my husband and oldest son keep mentioning."

There was a feeling of déjà-vu and Naruto could have laughed. He was pretty sure his first encounter with Itachi had gone in a similar fashion, though this was a lot more nerve-wracking since it was Sasuke's mother. He could definitely see the resemblance between her and Itachi though.

He gave her a small smile back and glanced at Sasuke who gave a nod before he spoke.

"It's very nice to meet you too, Mrs. Uchiha," he said and bowed.

There was a tinkling laugh and a hand pushing him up straight again.

"Mikoto is fine," she said and pulled him into a hug as well.

Naruto barely had time to register what was happening before Emi seemed to want attention from her grandmother, which she easily gained.

He relaxed a little as Mikoto picked her up and it wasn't long before they made their way to the house.

He was still high on nerves though, because he had a lot more people to meet and greet. What if they thought he wasn't good enough to be part of Sasuke and Emi's little family? Maybe Itachi, Fugaku and Mikoto would change their minds after being with him the entire day today.

A thumb pressing to his lower lip brought him out of his thoughts and he looked at Sasuke, who raised his eyebrows a little. He realized he had been chewing on it again and sighed.

"If you don't stop it's going to bleed," Sasuke said.

Naruto nodded and it was all he managed to do before they entered the house and Mikoto was calling for her husband and oldest son.

The interior was as extravagant as the exterior. The front doors opened up to a foyer with dark wooden floor and cream-colored walls. There was a round table in the middle with a flower arrangement on it and a plush, dark red carpet underneath. Behind it was a grand staircase leading up to a halfway point before splitting into two. The foyer's ceiling was open to the second floor and a banister ran along the walkway, which circled a large crystal chandelier.

There were two doorways on either side of the staircase and through the one to the left Naruto could see what looked like a sitting room with cream-colored armchairs and sofas. He also spotted a bookcase filled with books and trinkets. Through the other one he saw a hallway, which he assumed led all the way to the back of the mansion and the gardens.

The door to Naruto's right was open as well and revealed what seemed to be a dining room, judging by the long table and the glass cabinet with plates and glasses in the far left corner. There was another door in the wall beside the cabinet, which was closed.

To his left was a door as well, though it was closed. His inspection was cut off as Emi took off running down the hallway Naruto had seen through he doorway to the right of the stairs and he realized he apparently had missed a piece of conversation.

"Don't forget to say thank you, Emi!" Sasuke called but she was already long gone. "And be careful!"

Mikoto laughed.

"Let her have fun," she said and motioned them to follow her. "Now, come."

Naruto followed dazedly as she led the way across the dining room and through the closed door beside the cabinet. It led to a large kitchen, where every surface was spotless and shiny. The room held all the latest technology as well and Naruto was almost afraid of putting his bags on the kitchen island in fear of soiling it.

"Sasuke, take Naruto to the garden," Mikoto said as she began sorting through the bags. "Then come help me cut vegetables."

A thought seemed to hit her and she looked up at Naruto.

"Don't let Itachi bully you into doing work for him," she said. "You're a guest so you just relax."

Warmth spread through Naruto and he smiled.

"Are you sure?" he asked. "I wouldn't want to be in the way."

Mikoto waved a hand.

"Nonsense," she huffed and turned to open the fridge. "Now go."

Naruto looked at Sasuke, who shrugged and grabbed his hand. He was led out to the foyer again and down the hallway Emi had disappeared. There were paintings and portraits of what he assumed was ancestors along the walls and they passed four closed doors before the hall opened into a small round room. There were two glass doors right in front of them – both open – and Naruto could see a large cement, back patio, flat stones artistically placed in it. There was a long table set up on it with at least twenty chairs surrounding it and Itachi vas visible fiddling with a large grill a little further away through the white, stone fence lining the patio.

The back yard was a large and open piece of land dotted with trees and flower patches in different patterns. There were small bungalows visible further back and a pool was situated between them and the house, lined by cushioned sun chairs on one side.

"It's a nice house, but I really don't understand what you do with all this space," Naruto mumbled and Sasuke snorted.

"Well, it's handy when we have a lot of guests," he said before he pulled Naruto out onto the patio and down the few steps to the lawn.

Fugaku was sitting in one of the two sun chairs pulled up just beside the stairs, watching Itachi, and Emi was swinging on a swing in the tree to the right.

"Oh, Naruto," Fugaku said and stood up to take his hand before gesturing for him to sit down in the sun chair beside his. "Welcome."

Naruto smiled at him and took a seat.

"Thank you," he said. "You have a beautiful home."

Fugaku looked back at the house and sighed.

"We do," he said. "Though it is far too big, which leaves some rooms unused and dusty. Especially since Itachi and Sasuke moved out some years ago."

Naruto and Sasuke exchanged looks before Sasuke chuckled and shook his head. Fugaku looked between them curiously.

"I'm going to go help mother," Sasuke said and disappeared back into the house.

Fugaku sat down again and resumed watching his oldest son. Silence fell for a moment and Naruto took up watching Emi swing back and forth, back and forth, a wide grin on her face. After a moment, Fugaku broke the silence with a hum.

"They never let me help," he said.

Naruto blinked with the sudden confession and moved his eyes from Emi to him.

"Why?"

"Because they think the way I cut the vegetables are horrible and I always burn whatever I put on the grill," he sighed.

Naruto bit his lip to not laugh but Fugaku glanced at him with a small smile.

"You may laugh," he said.

Naruto smiled back.

"Well, I see my brother was here," a voice called.

Naruto and Fugaku looked up at Itachi, who was now approaching them.

"And he didn't even bother to say hello," he sighed dramatically to his father. "When will he learn to respect his elders?"

Fugaku simply gave him a blank look.

"Anyway, how are you Naruto?" Itachi asked.

"I'm good, thank you," Naruto answered.

Itachi nodded.

"That's good to hear," he said and looked at Emi who was still swinging happily. "I have a question for you though."

A sense of trepidation came over Naruto at the intent look in Itachi's eyes as he turned them back to him.

"Itachi," Fugaku said. "Let the poor boy relax a little before you pester him."

Itachi smiled sweetly at his father, which both Naruto and Fugaku clearly didn't trust if their exchanged rise of eyebrows were any indication.

"I was just curious," Itachi said. "Emi mentioned she came here with daddy and _papa_. Now, I wonder, who might this _papa_ be?"

Naruto swallowed, his fingers fiddling with the cuff of his shirt.

"Um, well…" he glanced at Fugaku who was shaking his head at Itachi, who in turn was looking highly amused by the entire thing.

He hadn't really been prepared to face this so soon so he couldn't form a single good sentence in his head. He had never been in this situation before. Sure he had dated, but he had never met the family of his lovers. And he had never been this anxious to be accepted and good enough either.

It turned out he didn't have to say anything, as just then Emi must have noticed his presence because she shouted, at the top of her lungs;

"Papa! Can you push me?"

Naruto blushed a little and Itachi was now shaking with poorly concealed laughter. Fugaku's lips twitched as well and Naruto sighed.

"Sure!" he called back. "Just a second!"

He looked back to Itachi and Fugaku and opened his mouth to begin to explain when Fugaku held up a hand.

"Itachi already told me and my wife about you and my son," he said. "And it does seem as if Sasuke and Emi are happy, if what Itachi has said is true, which I don't doubt. I couldn't ask for anything else."

Though Naruto's face felt warm yet again, he smiled.

"Papa!" Emi hollered at the top of her lungs.

Naruto jumped which made Itachi and Fugaku chuckle.

"You should probably go to her," Itachi advised. "Unless you want her to burst our eardrums."

Naruto nodded and stood up.

"Thank you," he said to the both of them with a small bow before he hurried over to Emi.

As he pushed her on the swing, he thought to himself that it was a relief Sasuke's parents and brother at least seemed to approve of him at the moment. He could feel the first tendrils of hope for the chance to see what a large family gathering was like, and be part of it, stir in his chest and he could only hope the rest of Sasuke's family would approve of him too.

* * *

**Hello~!**

**So this update was a little faster than usual, right? :)**

**I really have nothing to say except that you all are awesome! And your comments too!**

**Oh! And also! You know that angst tag I have on the story? Yeah, it hasn't happened yet... Just in case you think this story is going to be fluffy indefinitely. So if you don't like angst, you have been warned. It's not going to be super angsty though, at least I don't think, but yeah... Ye 'ave been warned!**

**See you in the next chapter!**

**Bye!**


	13. Chapter 13

**13\. Meeting Relatives and Pausing Moments**

Naruto carded his fingers through Emi's hair absentmindedly and stared up at the darkening sky.

Sasuke's family had all been nice and welcoming, which was impressive really considering the size of it. But there didn't seem to be anyone who wanted him any harm and he felt a little relieved. He usually didn't have this much luck with new people. Maybe it was because they all trusted Sasuke's judgment.

Either way, they had all been coming and talking to him one after the other, about his passions and dreams, his current studies and some even offered him to come work in the company when he graduated uni. Naruto wanted to hug them all.

Emi had been quite excited as well, running from person to person, receiving kisses and cuddles and even presents, while Sasuke had been having some important discussions with some of his relatives or had been setting the table. He had come to Naruto's side from time to time, though, and spent a moment with him, although he said it was only because he wanted to make sure his relatives weren't driving him insane.

The atmosphere at the table had been familial and light and it was the most wonderful thing Naruto had experienced. He was almost afraid that if he blinked long enough he would break a spell and it would all disappear.

When Emi had finished eating herself full, Naruto had let himself be pulled away from the table to push her on her new swing some more before she grew so tired he was afraid she would fall off the swing.

The rest of the Uchiha family were still talking and laughing and having a good time. Naruto hadn't wanted to bring Emi there in case she would fall asleep and he hadn't dared go back into the house on his own, so he had taken her to the three-seat, hammock swing bed just beside the back patio, facing out towards the gardens on the right of the mansion. He had discovered it when he first went to push Emi on the swing earlier that day, and it looked extremely inviting with its beige colored, plush seating cushions and kind of concealed placement from the rest of the area.

Once he had sat down and hoisted Emi up onto it beside him she had wasted no time in laying her head on his lap and curl up. Naruto had begun humming her favorite song softly while pulling his fingers through her hair and soon her breathing had slowed and evened out and she was drifting away as he made the hammock gently rock back and forth.

That was how Mikoto found them a few minutes later. She smiled when she caught Naruto's eyes and he stopped humming to smile back at her. She held up three blankets and he ceased the swinging of the hammock down in case she wanted to sit with them.

"I thought I might find you here," she said, sitting down and holding out one of the blankets. "You didn't come back and I couldn't see you by the swing."

Naruto gratefully took it and tucked it around Emi's sleeping form before he accepted the second one handed to him and pulled it around his shoulders. Mikoto took the third and covered her lap with it.

"Yeah," he murmured. "Emi started getting tired. I didn't really know where to go and this hammock looked comfortable enough."

Mikoto hummed and began gently rocking the hammock again. They sat in peace for a moment, both watching the sky go from pale blue, pink and orange to a dark, rich blue and then black, the stars waking up one after the other. Small garden lights flickered to life of their own among the flowers, bushes, and trees, like fireflies and fairies coming out to play.

"You know," Mikoto said softly after a while. "I'm glad my son found you."

Naruto looked at her in surprise and she laughed quietly.

"I say that sincerely," she said. "You didn't know him before, but he had me and my husband and even Itachi worried for a while."

Naruto frowned.

"Why?"

Mikoto's smile turned wistful and she looked back at the stars.

"Sasuke was a… sensitive child," she said, "in the way that he was very aware of what people thought of and expected of him. It affected him quite considerably as he, and Itachi, were in the center of attention from the very day they were born. They have never had even a moment where they could be normal children out in the world and as a parent that has pained me very much."

Mikoto closed her eyes and took a breath.

"Itachi managed to grow into his own person fairly well," she continued. "He was the one to test new things out and thus he was also the one who would either receive backlash or praise from the rest of the world. Sasuke, however, watched Itachi's mistakes or successes and learned what the public would then expect of him. He has never once been on the bad side of the media, which means he has never once truly made a decision for himself."

Naruto stared at her silently, his heart stuttering and his breathing uneven. Mikoto glanced at him and smiled.

"Well, until he met you, that is," she said warmly and Naruto's heart skipped a beat.

"What do you mean?" he whispered.

Mikoto's smile widened.

"Well, having a man take care of your child is very unusual. Being in a relationship with said man isn't exactly what the public would expect of him either," she said. "But he has not once thought of firing or not being with you for the sake of what everyone expects of him, from what I understand."

Naruto opened and closed his mouth a few times, unable to find anything to say. Mikoto smiled a little wider before it faded and she looked out at the garden.

"I just hope it won't catch up to him," she said. "He might have forgotten to think of society's expectations of him at the moment, but I'm afraid of what will happen if he wakes up one day and realizes he's straying from the path he has always taken."

Naruto swallowed and looked down at Emi.

"I–," he croaked.

Mikoto looked at him and he smiled weakly.

"I love them," he said. "More than anything."

Mikoto reached out and caressed his cheek before pulling her fingers through his hair. Naruto's heart ached and he wondered if this was how a mother's comfort felt like.

"I can see you are what has been missing from Sasuke and Emi's lives and as his mother it makes me so unimaginably happy to see you three together," she said and looked down at Emi. "Just please don't give up on Sasuke if he ever decides he should push you away because of society and its views."

Naruto bit his lip but nodded.

"I'll do my best," he murmured.

Mikoto gave a nod as well and stood up, neatly folding her blanket.

"We've asked our maid to arrange Sasuke's old rooms for you to spend the night in since it's getting to be quite late," she said. "We wouldn't want you to drive for two hours to get home now."

Naruto smiled softly.

"Thank you."

Mikoto smiled and turned to go back to the still ongoing party on the patio. Naruto let out a heavy sigh and leaned his head back against the backrest, his eyes closed.

He couldn't say he understood what Sasuke had been through, but he knew what it was like having people judge and make up their mind about you before they even got to know you. He'd been at the receiving end of that judgment more time than he could count and it always left him frustrated and sad, knowing that whatever he did, however he changed his appearance and mannerisms, the fact that he was an orphan without foster parents would always make people think the worst of him.

And for Sasuke it was the opposite. People would always think the best of him until he popped their little bubbles. It seemed he hadn't dared yet, and Naruto could understand why. Being thought of highly left you with much less leeway to get away with things than being thought of badly.

Naruto vowed then and there that he would never make Sasuke choose to reveal anything that could put him in a bad light just to make Naruto happy. He would be happy as long as Sasuke stayed by his side, be it in secret or not.

The hammock swayed softly and Naruto opened his eyes again to find Sasuke had sat down beside him. He smiled at him and Sasuke leaned in to press a kiss to his lips.

"I thought you had fallen asleep," he murmured.

Naruto shook his head.

"No, I was just lost in thought," he said and Sasuke raised his eyebrows questioningly. "It's nothing."

Sasuke hummed and looked down at Emi.

"I heard mother has arranged for us to stay over," he said.

"Yeah." Naruto opened the blanket around him to envelop Sasuke in it as well. "She didn't want us to drive back so late at night."

Sasuke smiled a little and moved closer, his arm finding it's way around Naruto's shoulders. Naruto gave his cheek a quick kiss before he rested his head on his shoulder, closing his eyes and humming softly again. Sasuke's fingers drew gentle lines up and down his arm.

"What are you humming?" he asked after a moment of listening. "It sounds familiar."

Naruto chuckled quietly.

"That's because it probably is," he said. "I've been singing it to Emi a hundred times over since it's her favorite song. I'm sure you've heard it quite a few times."

Sasuke hummed and fell silent as Naruto took up humming again, accompanied by the now low murmur of those who were still up on the patio. He could feel how all the muscles in Sasuke's body relaxed and how his breathing deepened and he smiled a little to himself.

"Hey," he said quietly and looked up at Sasuke, who blinked his eyes open with difficulty. "Maybe we should go to bed?"

"Mh," Sasuke agreed tiredly and closed his eyes for a moment more before he sighed and rose heavily.

He made a move to take Emi but Naruto shook his head.

"I'll take her," he said and gently maneuvered Emi into his arms. He smiled a little at her open mouth and how she was dead to the world.

Then he stood up and motioned for Sasuke to lead the way.

Most of the guest had retreated by now, though Naruto didn't know if they had gone home or stayed in their guest houses. They passed a few who smiled at them and bade them good night and then they were inside. Naruto hadn't noticed how chilly it had been outside until he felt the heat of the house warm him up, sending a small shiver down his spine.

Sasuke led him up the grand staircase to the second floor and down a corridor to the east wing of the house. He opened a door at the end of the hallway and Naruto stepped inside.

The room was fairly simple with the same dark and light theme the rest of the house had. There was a small bed by the window, a bookcase beside which an armchair stood, and a desk on the opposite side of the bed. There was also a baby blue nightgown with white bunnies and stars on it placed on the bed.

"This is Emi's room whenever she stays over," Sasuke explained. "It used to be my old room, but when I grew older I was given the suite just across the hall."

"Oh," Naruto murmured and carefully laid Emi out on the bed.

He glanced back at Sasuke who was still blinking tiredly and let out a large yawn.

"You can head to bed," Naruto said. "I'll change Emi's clothes."

Sasuke nodded and turned to leave. He had just exited the room when a thought struck Naruto.

"Wait!" he said in a hushed call and Sasuke turned back. "Where am I supposed to sleep?"

Sasuke frowned as if he didn't understand the question.

"Didn't mother tell you?" he asked. "My bed is big enough for both of us. Besides, it's not like they don't already know."

Naruto blushed and turned his gaze away.

"R-right," he stammered. "Yeah. So, just across the hall?"

"Yes," Sasuke said.

"Okay. Got it," he muttered and began preparing a still sleeping Emi for bed.

He could hear Sasuke yawning again and how his footsteps retreated to the other side of the hall. Then a door opened and closed quietly.

He let out a breath and forced his heart to calm down as he tucked Emi into bed. He folded her clothes and put them on the desk before he made sure that she was properly covered once again. Then he kissed her forehead and left, leaving the door open just the slightest.

Sasuke's room was really what one would call a suite. It had a small entrance area, with a standing coat hanger and a shoe rack to the right and a wall with two doors to the left. One he assumed led to a bathroom and the other had to be a wardrobe. In the inner room a king sized bed was pushed up against the wall to the left and a small sitting area with a large flat screen TV and entertainment station was to the right. In front of the TV stood a large couch, on which Sasuke was currently sitting.

Or, rather, sitting wasn't quite what he was doing. He had sunk so low his head rested comfortably against the back of the couch and his knees almost touched the coffee table in front of the couch.

The light was dim so Naruto stopped just beside the couch, squinting a little to try and determine if Sasuke was asleep. His arms lay limp by his sides and his eyes were closed, his lips slightly parted. His breathing was soft and even and Naruto was unsure if he had noticed him at all.

"Sasuke?" he asked quietly and received a soft, touched out hum in response.

He smiled softly and moved forward until he was standing beside him, looking down at his relaxed form. Sasuke's face was completely blank in a peaceful expression.

"Emi's so tired she didn't even wake up when I changed her clothes," he informed him in the same quiet voice. "She must have been really exhausted by today's events."

"Yeah," Sasuke mumbled without opening his eyes.

Naruto reached out a tentative hand and gently put it on his shoulder. Sasuke cracked his eyes open the slightest, gaze questioning. Naruto gave another smile.

"You should really head to bed, too," he whispered. "Why are you on the couch?"

Sasuke just stared at him, as if he was unable to understand the words he had spoken, and Naruto raised his eyebrows. They watched each other in silence for a moment before Sasuke let out a soft sigh and pulled a hand through his hair, letting it rest halfway through.

And Naruto couldn't help himself. The love just bubbled up and overflowed. He bent down and placed a gentle kiss on Sasuke's lips.

Sasuke didn't respond at first and he didn't know if it was because he was too lethargic to or simply because he was caught off guard. But just as he was about to pull back, Sasuke cupped the back of his head to press their lips together again and Naruto slid onto his lap, straddling him.

They sat like that for a moment, kissing leisurely. It wasn't supposed to go anywhere. At least Naruto hadn't planned for it to go anywhere, but the way Sasuke moved his lips against his with intent and the growing hardness he could feel against his own wiped out all thoughts of sleep. And Sasuke didn't seem so sleepy himself anymore.

Naruto moved his hands, which previously had been cupping Sasuke's face, down to shakily fiddle with the buttons of his shirt. He wasn't sure if he was pushing things, but the way Sasuke reacted by kissing him deeper made him feel a little more confident and he managed to unbutton the shirt all the way, pushing it off and pulling back to watch his hands travel over the hard, pale planes of Sasuke's chest and stomach. He bit his lip, glanced back up at him and blushed faintly as he met dark, curious eyes. He let the fingertips of one hand graze his skin, light as a feather, tracing them from Sasuke's chest, down over his swiftly rising and falling stomach to the thin trail of dark hair just above the waistline of his dress pants, only to come to a stop where they met the fabric.

He stole another quick glance up at Sasuke, whose gaze was fixated on his hand, almost as if he were under hypnosis. Naruto's fingers curled.

"Can I?" he asked, his voice a low murmur.

Sasuke's dark eyes looked back up at him, watching him thoughtfully, as if in wonder. Then he slowly reached for his wrist, pulling his hand further down and pressing it against his semi-hard erection.

Naruto's breath caught in his throat and he swallowed as he watched Sasuke slowly nod. He gave a small nod back and slid backwards on Sasuke's thighs to unbuckle his belt and pull down the zipper.

Sasuke continued watching his every move, looking partly curious and partly thoughtful. His breath hitched when Naruto's hand slipped underneath his pants and underwear, his colder fingers meeting Sasuke's warm member in a soft caress.

"Do…" Naruto licked his dry lips and swallowed again, his heart beating so hard he thought it would burst through his ribcage. "Do you want me to…?"

Sasuke looked at him questioningly for a moment, his eyes falling to his lips, before he seemed to realize what Naruto was asking and his gaze darkened.

"Yeah," he breathed huskily and a pleasant shiver scattered down Naruto's spine.

He slid all the way off Sasuke's thighs and kneeled down in front of him, spreading his legs a bit to move in-between them. Then he pulled Sasuke's pants and underwear further down his hips, taking a shaky breath while glancing quickly at Sasuke's mildly fascinated expression. He stroked him a few times and Sasuke closed his eyes, sharp breaths escaping his parted lips as he leaned his head back again.

It boosted Naruto's courage and he moved forward, kissing the tip of the head lightly before letting his lips caress one side of Sasuke's member. Sasuke's pants came out harsher and a small sound caught in his throat when Naruto finally parted his lips to take him in. A hand caressed his hair before fingers weaved in-between his strands, grabbing loosely as he moved his head.

He had only given head three times before but judging by Sasuke's reactions he wasn't doing too poorly. He felt a little more confident and moved his head faster, swirling his tongue around the tip every so often as he pulled back. Sasuke's chest was rising and falling rapidly now, his head still thrown back, and his hips twitched every now and then.

The warmth of arousal surrounding them spread a blush on Naruto's face and his already fast heartbeat quickened.

Sasuke's eyes suddenly opened and he pulled Naruto's head back with the hand in his hair, making him grimace faintly with the strain on his strands.

"Wait," Sasuke panted and looked down at him, his cheeks flushed as well and his eyes alight with arousal. He grabbed both of Naruto's upper arms to pull him onto his lap again with surprising strength. "I want you…"

Naruto blinked questioningly as Sasuke's voice died out before realization hit him.

"Do you know how to have sex with a man?" he murmured.

Sasuke shook his head, but his hands moved underneath Naruto's t-shirt, caressing up his back to his shoulders to then pull the clothing over his head. Naruto obediently helped him get it off, feeling very shy all of a sudden when Sasuke's eyes travelled over his chest and stomach down to his straining pants.

"I–," Naruto started but cut off with a sharp intake of air when Sasuke unbuttoned his jeans without any sort of warning, his fingers slipping inside to grab his now very hard member and moving his hand experimentally.

Naruto let out a soft moan as he slumped forward, his cheek resting on Sasuke's shoulder and his forehead pressing into the side of his neck.

"Sasuke," he panted, "I c-can't – you – m…"

He struggled to speak coherently without any success and he felt more than saw Sasuke's lips quirk.

Huffing, he mustered up enough strength and willpower to once again stand up, slipping the rest of his clothes off while Sasuke watched dazedly. He gave him a small smile as he straddled him again, a shiver going up his spine from the feel of the coarse fabric of Sasuke's pants against the back of his thighs.

"How…" Sasuke's voice died out as Naruto grabbed one of his hands, bringing it to his lips and taking his pointer finger into his mouth.

He heard Sasuke's breath catch in his throat but couldn't meet his intense stare, continuing on to the next finger when he deemed the first one lathered up enough.

"What are you doing?" Sasuke asked breathlessly when he took the third finger into his mouth.

"There's no lube," Naruto mumbled around his finger. He could have done it himself, but he was secretly thinking this would be a good way to see if Sasuke could really do it.

"Oh…"

Sasuke frowned slightly, but Naruto was too occupied bringing his now saliva lathered hand down behind him to question it. His abdomen tightened in anticipation and he bit his lip.

"You… gotta stretch…" he mumbled and looked up at Sasuke through his fringe, seeing understanding pass his features.

He bit his lip; about to suggest they skip the entire thing and forget about it since he wasn't sure Sasuke would be able to do it after all. The words caught in his throat, though, as a finger suddenly pressed inside him and the air in his lungs rushed out while his hands shot up to grab at Sasuke's shoulders, his nose wrinkling at the sudden intrusion. The discomfort passed after a few moments, taking a little longer since they had no lube, but after a while he experimentally rolled his hips back against Sasuke's finger.

"Another," he murmured when Sasuke had tentatively moved his finger in and out of him for a while.

He complied silently and Naruto's grip on his shoulders tightened, fingernails digging into skin, but Sasuke didn't complain.

It had been a while since he had done it with a man and receiving, so it felt a little uncomfortable though it was bearable. He was a little worried about the third finger though, as well as the girth of Sasuke himself. But he forgot about it as he mouthed at Sasuke's jaw while his hips started moving with more purpose, the burn of the stretch lessening with every slow roll.

Sasuke seemed to have gotten the hang of how things worked because he didn't need Naruto to tell him when to put the third finger in. He flexed them experimentally, making Naruto's body tremble only for him to dig his fingers into his shoulders and let out a moan when he brushed against a spot that made him want to burst right then and there. Sasuke's other hand had also seemed to find its way between them, stroking Naruto's erection in time with the thrust of his fingers and making Naruto's hips stutter. For it being Sasuke's first time with a man, he sure was doing pretty well. He trailed small kisses along Naruto's jaw and cheek as he flexed his fingers carefully before finding that spot again and Naruto deemed himself ready, or this would be over before it even had reached the best part.

"Sasuke," Naruto panted against Sasuke's ear, nipping at it. "You can take your fingers out."

Sasuke did as he was told after turning his head and pressing one last kiss to Naruto's lips. Naruto's breath stuttered at the loss of the warmth of his fingers inside him. Then he raised his hips, thighs quivering, before pressing closer to Sasuke and sliding down again.

They both let out gasps and moans as Sasuke's erection nestled between Naruto's cheeks. Sasuke gripped his hips tightly, his breathing rapid and shallow as Naruto pressed back against the warm flesh for a moment before he reached behind him with a shaky hand, grabbing him. Sasuke let out a shuddering breath and Naruto raised his hips again, positioned the tip and slowly pushed himself down, bit by bit. Sasuke swallowed loudly as he clearly fought to not just thrust up into Naruto, the grip on his hips tightening.

"Jesus," Sasuke said in a strained whisper once Naruto had sunk all the way down. He looked down at the place they were connected and his hips twitched up, driving in deeper and making Naruto gasp. "Naruto."

He reached up to caress Naruto's cheek with his knuckles, staring up at him with wide, dark eyes as if he was seeing him for the first time. Naruto managed a small grin at him, leaning forward to capture his already red lips in another kiss. Sasuke let out a groan against his lips, his hands flying to his hips and gripping them tightly again, no doubt leaving bruises. Naruto pulled back to roll his hips tentatively, testing the feeling, before raising them ever so little and grinding back down. He repeated the motion a few times before Sasuke started meeting him halfway, rolling his hips up as Naruto pushed down.

Naruto released his hold on Sasuke's shoulders and let his fingertips caress up his throat to take leverage in the junctures of his jaw and throat on either side, tilting his head up and catching his lips in a soft kiss as he continued rolling his hips, swallowing Sasuke's gasps and pressing kiss upon kiss to his lips.

One of Sasuke's arms wound around his waist and, without warning, he turned them over so Naruto was now lying down on the couch, thighs pressing into Sasuke's sides. Sasuke's lips found his again as he settled into a slow pace, grinding into him slow and deep, making Naruto gasp against his lips as his back slid on the cushions with the motion. He threw his head back and arched into him when a thrust went particularly deep, sparks coursing through his veins stronger than they had before and forcing a low moan out of him. Sasuke's mouth moved to his exposed throat, his teeth gently dragging over the skin and biting down with enough pressure to leave a mark. Naruto's hands caressed Sasuke's back as he continued to rock into him, one going up to grip his shoulder tight, blunt nails digging into the skin, the other sneaking underneath his pants to press him closer, deeper.

"Sasuke," Naruto gasped against his skin as he kissed along his jaw, "faster."

Sasuke nipped at his collarbone and increased the speed of his thrusts. Naruto sought out his lips again to muffle his moans, afraid he would cry out loud enough to wake Emi.

One of Sasuke's hands found Naruto's hair, combing through it distractedly while the other hand had a tight grip on his thigh, hooking it around his hip. He changed the angle of his thrusts, and Naruto accidentally bit his lip as he found his prostate again. Sasuke pulled back to smirk at him, his bottom lip red but thankfully not bleeding. Naruto would have liked to say something snarky to the smug expression on his face but every word in his mind's vocabulary disappeared as Sasuke hit his prostate again, and again, and again.

He couldn't help the loud moan that escaped him but hurried to grab the back of Sasuke's head and pull him back into a kiss in order to muffle the others. Sasuke easily accepted it as his hand caressed along his thigh up to his arousal. Naruto came embarrassedly fast, only needing two strokes before his stomach clenched and his legs around Sasuke tightened. Sasuke followed soon after, rolling his hips deep a few times before warmth filled Naruto and he moaned again.

Sasuke collapsed on top of him and Naruto wound his arms around his middle, kissing his temple. He turned his head, letting his lips draw a line from Naruto's ear to his chin, up to his mouth to press a soft kiss there.

"That… was great…" Sasuke murmured after a second of soft kisses.

"Yeah," Naruto whispered. Then worry stirred in his stomach. "I hope we didn't wake Emi."

Sasuke raised his head to glance at the door before looking back down at him. He tilted his head a little, as if he was contemplating something and Naruto frowned at him. He didn't get the chance to voice a question as Sasuke gave him another kiss before pulling out. Naruto grimaced a little but accepted the hand Sasuke held out and let himself be pulled up.

"Let's go wash up," Sasuke said.

* * *

Sasuke woke up alone the next morning. He blinked sleepily at the ceiling and rolled onto his side only to frown as he heard paper crinkle. He raised his head a little and found a note on Naruto's side of the bed.

He reached up and grabbed it.

_Emi woke up early and was bored so I'm outside playing with her. Your mom is making scones for breakfast and in case you don't wake up before we sit down to eat she told me she put some away for you since Itachi and your father would just eat all of them otherwise._

_–N_

Sasuke smiled a little to himself and fondness suddenly struck him, filling his chest with what felt like so much helium he wanted to burst. It took him a moment to control the giddy grin on his face and he got up to get dressed. The house was quiet as he exited his room and he looked out the window at the end of the hallway.

He couldn't see either Emi or Naruto, but his mother and brother along with a few others of his relatives were on the patio, enjoying the sun, reading the newspaper or eating breakfast so he made his way down there.

"Oh, good morning Sasuke," his mother said when he came through the open glass doors and looked up from the scone she was currently putting jam on. "You must have been very tired to sleep this late."

Sasuke tried not to look guilty as he suddenly realized Naruto and he had had sex, for the first time even, in his parents' house and took a seat in one of the two empty chairs to her left.

"We have been quite busy this week, mother," Itachi said, looking up from his newspaper.

His mother put down her scone to card her fingers through Sasuke's hair and handed him the basket of scones. The maid came over with a carafe of coffee and filled his cup with a '_Good morning, sir_' and Sasuke thanked her with a small smile. She blinked and smiled back tentatively.

Itachi snorted and he looked at his brother who gave him a sly look.

"Aren't you pleasant today," he smirked and it dawned on Sasuke that Itachi somehow knew.

He scowled at his brother and ignored him in favor of opening and buttering his scone.

"Where are Emi and Naruto?" Sasuke asked after having taken a bite of the bread.

His mother smiled fondly and looked to the gardens.

"Your father wanted to show Naruto his greenhouse," she answered. "The apples have just ripened so he took them there to taste some. They should be back soon."

Sasuke hummed and was then distracted by one of his cousins asking Itachi and him about their new business deal. It bloomed into a discussion among almost everyone present about how they could improve their products by joining with other engineering companies, though it was soon interrupted by a happy '_Daddy!_' and they all looked over to see Emi, Naruto and Sasuke's father emerge from in-between some trees with their arms full of apples.

Emi hurried up the steps and dumped all her apples, five of them, in Sasuke's lap while Naruto and his father let their apples roll onto the table.

"Have some," his father said to everyone. "They're sweet."

Sasuke quickly relocated the apples in his lap to the table as Emi decided she wanted to sit and clambered onto his lap.

Naruto smiled at them, though his cheeks grew pink when he met Sasuke's eyes, and he took the seat beside him.

"Good morning," he murmured.

Sasuke couldn't help the answering smile spreading on his lip and hid it by taking another bite of his scone while the rest of the table enthusiastically began eating the apples.

He saw in the corner of his eye how a smug smirk pulled at Itachi's lips and he gave him a questioning look. Itachi gave the tiniest nod in Naruto's direction before tapping a finger to the juncture of his throat and collarbone. Sasuke frowned and looked at Naruto, inspecting his throat.

His hear skipped a beat when he noticed a small mark, which could only be a hickey he had left last night, sometimes peek out from underneath Naruto's shirt collar. He cleared his throat a little and looked away, though he couldn't help another grin tugging at his lips. He heard Itachi snort, but thankfully he didn't comment on it and went back to his newspaper.

Naruto gave him a curios look but Sasuke shook his head. Instead he gabbed Naruto's hand under the table and interlaced their fingers. Naruto bit his lip through a smile and grabbed an apple.

Sasuke wasn't much of a romantic, but he could now see the appeal of wanting to pause a moment and live in it forever, as so many romance novels always mentioned.

* * *

**Sasuke only read romantic novels because Sakura was his best friend and practically forced him to.**

**By the way, what is this?! Another update?! Before even a month has passed?! Hahaha, well, most of this chapter was written since way before actually so it was more a matter of just editing it so it would fit in the story. And I'm not so hot on the Uchiha family tree and names as it was some time since I read the manga, so sorry I don't go into more details about them. I could go with Madara and all that but I felt I couldn't really fit him comfortably into this chapter.**

**Uhm, also... smut happened... yeah... I'm not good at it but I tried... And it was kind of an impulse thing anyway, I hadn't planned for it to happen yet but oh well :/ Naruto clearly didn't want to listen to me, not that Sasuke was any more inclined to.**

**I know Sasuke's part of the chapter was short, but that's just how things go sometimes.**

**That's all! Thank you for your comments and support, though I haven't had the chance to answer to any since I was busy getting this chapter finished ;)**

**See you in the next chapter!**


	14. Chapter 14

**14\. An Unknown Caller and The Child Whisperer**

Sasuke leaned his head back with a sigh and rubbed his temples, trying to stave off the headache that always followed when he stared at his laptop screen for too long. He closed his eyes and decided to rest them for a moment.

It had been a hectic week – what with their business deal finally going through – but somehow his soul had never felt more at ease. And he knew it had a lot to do with Naruto.

Even if both of them had been busy this week – Sasuke with his work, though it wasn't as stressful as it had been before the business deal, and Naruto with his studies – it felt as if they had become even closer. It might be normal, seeing as what had happened at his parents that weekend was a big step in their relationship, but it still baffled Sasuke a little. He had never had a relationship like this, where he wanted to give and give and give, to make his partner happy and ensure they wanted for nothing. Up until now Emi had been the only one he wholly gave himself to and was open with.

But with Naruto, it was just so easy to be himself without fear of… well everything.

They hadn't really been able or had the time to be intimate again, though it still felt like it in the way Naruto would lean against Sasuke's legs when he studied while Sasuke watched the evening news, in how he curled up to him during the night in his sleep and how Sasuke wasn't bothered or irritated about it the same way he had been with his ex-wife, in the kisses they would share before they fell asleep and after they woke up, and in how the touches between them lingered a little longer than necessary.

"I like this Sasuke," Itachi had commented one day during lunch.

Sasuke had raised his eyebrows at him and his brother had grinned.

"Your so calm, tranquil, sociable and smiley," he had elaborated. "It's quite nice to see."

Sasuke had muttered something unintelligible and went back to his food, though his face had warmed.

His phone began ringing and pulled him out of his thoughts. He heaved a heavy sigh and opened his eyes again to look at it. He frowned when the screen lit up with only the name '_Unknown_', no number. He stared at it for a moment as uneasiness settled over him like a heavy blanket.

He couldn't be certain it was the same person, but _Unknown_ had been calling him two or three times a day all week, on his personal phone. It was unsettling, seeing as no one could get his number had he himself not given it to them. It should be impossible to look up and yet, here he was with an untraceable, unknown number calling him. They never left a voicemail either, which was weird considering they called him so often.

The phone stopped ringing and Sasuke let out a breath he didn't know he had been holding. He stared at his phone for another moment, before he shook himself out of it and went back to work.

He soon lost himself in numbers and charts and forgot all about the unknown caller. Time seemed to fly past and it felt like just minutes later his secretary knocked on his door to announce she was going home, which always indicated it was late afternoon, bordering on evening.

Sasuke thanked her with a faint, distracted smile and wished her a nice weekend. He caught her blush as she retreated with an '_And to you too, sir_'.

Sasuke blinked at the door. His secretary usually didn't blush, but then again, Sasuke usually didn't talk to her. His brother's earlier comment about being _sociable_ came back to him and he snorted, but decided to not mind it and went back to his laptop.

He finished what he was currently working on before he packed up and made his way home, one of the last to leave the building. His brother was still there, judging by the light he could see through the frosted glass to his office, but Sasuke chose not to disturb him.

The sound of running feet greeted him when he entered his home and soon Emi came into view, skidding out of the kitchen towards the stairs to the upper floor.

"Be careful, Emi," Sasuke said as he took off his suit jacket and hung it up.

She glanced over at him, startled.

"Oh, hi daddy!" she greeted hastily before she hurried up the stairs and left Sasuke staring after her in bewilderment.

He shook his head and removed his shoes. Something clearly had her worked up. He thought it might have to do with her friends visiting tomorrow, but he couldn't figure out why she was in such a hurry upstairs.

He made his way into the kitchen where he found Naruto bent over a cookbook at the kitchen island. A smile tugged at his lips and he moved up behind him, placing a hand on his hip and pressing a kiss to the side of his neck.

Naruto jumped a little in surprise but turned to him with a grin.

"Hey," he said. "I didn't hear you come in."

Sasuke raised his eyebrows but didn't say anything. Instead he chose to lean in and capture Naruto's lips with his. Naruto turned to him fully, wrapping his arms around his middle to bring him closer.

"Welcome home," he breathed once they broke apart.

Sasuke gave him another soft kiss.

"I'm home," he murmured.

Naruto smiled and turned back to the cookbook. Sasuke watched him flip through it for a moment before he decided to break the silence.

"Naruto."

"Hm?" Naruto hummed.

"Why was Emi in such a hurry?"

Naruto looked up at him with a laugh.

"Oh, that," he said, eyes twinkling with amusement. "Well, she wanted Kousuke and Yuki to come over and play tomorrow right? I told her that would only happen if she cleaned her room."

Sasuke frowned. He remembered having a conversation with the parents of Emi's friend, and he thought he had already made arrangements. They were supposed to be dropped off tomorrow after breakfast and stay until dinner.

"I thought it was already decided they were coming," he said. "I've notified the guard at the gates and everything."

Naruto grinned.

"Oh, I know," he said with a wink. "Emi, however, doesn't. I thought she needed an incentive to pick up her toys since I've asked her to all week without development. I'll help her clean her room properly after dinner, but her toys she can handle herself."

Sasuke was silent for an astonished moment before he burst out laughing.

"You really know how to make her do things willingly," he chuckled. "She didn't even put up a fight?"

Naruto waggled his eyebrows.

"Nope," he laughed. "I'm the child whisperer."

Sasuke smiled.

"Apparently you are," he agreed.

* * *

Naruto sat staring unseeingly at his book, the words and sentences blurring together. He blinked a few times to try and focus again, but gave up once he had read the same paragraph three times without taking in what it actually said.

He sighed, put the book down on the coffee table along with the orange marker he had used to highlight important passages, and heaved himself up from the living room floor onto the couch where he proceeded to stare at the muted TV-screen instead. Right now there was a commercial for some new sports drink, but soon the news would start. He reached for the remote and turned the sound on again, though he kept it low so the sound wouldn't travel upstairs where Sasuke was putting Emi to bed.

As he relaxed, Naruto couldn't remember feeling this calm and peaceful and content in his entire life, as if he had found something he hadn't known was missing. Or well, he _had_ known what he was missing, which was a family, but he hadn't known just how _much_.

He was still a little afraid this was all just too good to be true. Everything had gone so smoothly, which usually didn't happen in his experience. He had always had to fight or work extremely hard for everything his entire life. He had never had money, so he had instead worked hours on end to be able to hang out and do things with his friends that cost money. He had learned to save up months in advance; just to be sure he could go to the arcade or carnival. He had perfected the art of finding second hand clothes that didn't look like they had been used and school supplies that looked new, so his friends wouldn't pity him. He always bought the cheapest food he could find, usually things that were to expire soon and were on sale. That was the story of his life, ever since he was old enough to make decisions for himself.

Sasuke wasn't aware of this and Naruto didn't know if he ever wanted him to be. People usually assumed he had become friends with them or entered a relationship only because he wanted to use them once they learned how bad his life truly was. Especially those he were in a relationship with. He feared Sasuke and his family would begin to suspect that as well, were they ever to learn how he truly had led his life.

But it was as far from the truth as it could be. Naruto had never ever wanted to use anyone since he knew all to well how it felt to be used himself. Employers didn't pay him enough because they could get away with him being too young or inexperienced and the patrons at the orphanage had seen him as free labor.

Sasuke wasn't unreasonable and he had a warm heart, Naruto knew that, but he couldn't help dreading telling him someday, because _what if_? What if Sasuke couldn't see past Naruto's background, like so many others in this world, though he tried? What if the suspicion of Naruto's true intentions grew too strong for him to continue being with him? It had all happened before; Naruto didn't doubt it could happen again. Even though all he ever wanted was to love and be loved unconditionally.

He could at least start with telling Sasuke to stop paying him for taking care of Emi. He could find another part time job and help pay for things around the house. He hadn't remembered until that morning that he actually was still Sasuke's employee, and it just felt weird.

The ringing of a phone startled him out of his thoughts and he jumped a little before he looked over at Sasuke's laptop and cellphone on the seat cushion beside him. He peeked at the phone screen, in case it was Itachi calling, but frowned as his eyes fell upon the name '_Unknown_'. He stared at it as he waited for it to stop ringing, wondering who would be calling this late on Sasuke's personal phone. He hoped it wasn't some big corporate boss wanting another deal or something, because that meant Sasuke would once again be stressed – more than he usually was – and not have time to be with Emi as much. Or Naruto, but that was secondary.

"Did you give up with studying for tonight?"

Naruto startled and looked over at Sasuke who was making his way over to him.

"Yeah," Naruto answered. "I realized I had read the same thing over and over again without understanding what it said."

Sasuke snorted a little and fell down on the couch beside him, on the other side of his laptop and phone, putting an arm around Naruto to pull him to his side. Naruto went willingly and adjusted so they both could be comfortable. They watched the news together in silence, Sasuke's fingers playing with Naruto's hair and Naruto fiddling with the fingers of Sasuke's other hand.

"Hey," Naruto murmured once the news had gone from global and local to entertainment. "You had a phone call from someone _Unknown_."

He felt Sasuke still and then sigh heavily.

"Great, they're even calling me in the evening now?" he muttered.

Naruto sat up a little to look at him. Sasuke looked decidedly unhappy and annoyed.

"Who is it?" he asked.

Sasuke met his eyes and shrugged.

"I don't know," he said scowling. "And I probably never will, since I don't plan on answering the caller anytime soon. I only give my private number to those I trust, and none of them have _Unknown_ as their identity."

Naruto frowned and worry coiled in his stomach.

"Do you think it's someone who wants to hurt you?" he whispered.

Sasuke looked at him for a long moment before he sighed again.

"Honestly, I can't rule that out," he said softly. "They have been so very persistent this past week. It would be a very strange way to get to me however."

Naruto bit his lip and turned his attention back to the TV, where the commercials had returned. He couldn't concentrate on them though, as Sasuke's story of his father's uncle and his lover echoed in Naruto's head like a broken record. The media couldn't have found out, could they?

He couldn't suppress the small shiver running down his spine and glanced out the window. It was ridiculous, since the entire neighborhood was strictly guarded and no paparazzi could get in, but he still couldn't help it.

He felt a hand stroke down his back and looked over at Sasuke again, who was watching him seriously.

"Are you okay?"

Naruto considered nodding but decided that honesty was better and shook his head.

"It worries me a little," he said quietly. "Especially because of what you told me about your father's uncle. You'll be careful, right?"

Sasuke smiled faintly.

"Of course," he murmured.

Naruto gave a weak smile back before a yawn forced its way out, bringing tears to his eyes. Sasuke raised his eyebrows in amusement and Naruto wrinkled his nose at him.

"Maybe you should go to bed?" Sasuke suggested.

Naruto nodded and stood, gathering up his book and marker from the coffee table. He leaned down to kiss Sasuke goodnight, but found that when he pulled away he couldn't leave without another kiss. So he bent down again, to Sasuke's obvious amusement and pleasure. His book was soon pushed to the side as Sasuke pulled him onto his lap and Naruto chuckled into the kiss.

"You're gonna damage the book," he murmured against Sasuke's insistent lips.

Sasuke pulled back to gently grab the book and properly put it aside. Naruto grinned at him when he looked back up, and Sasuke rolled his eyes. Then Naruto cupped his face to kiss him again and the book was quickly forgotten.

Soon Sasuke's kisses grew more intent and his touches more intimate. Naruto's heart began fluttering in his chest and he could feel warmth pool in his stomach. He bit his lip as Sasuke moved his lips to his throat and leaned his head back with a soft breath.

"Sasuke," he murmured and Sasuke hummed. "I'm not doing this on the couch. Again."

Sasuke snorted but pulled away and Naruto looked down at him again, meeting his dark, piercing gaze. He swallowed and resisted leaning in to kiss Sasuke's reddened lips again.

"Especially since Emi could come in at any given moment," he continued in a whisper instead.

That did seem to sober Sasuke up a bit and he motioned for Naruto to stand up, following him. He turned the television off, closed his laptop, and after a moment of consideration apparently decided to leave his phone as well, since he took Naruto's hand and pulled him up the stairs and to the bedroom without taking it with him.

Sasuke opened the door to the bedroom and stood back for Naruto to enter. He grinned at him.

"Such a gentleman," he teased and Sasuke leveled him with an unimpressed look.

Naruto hooked his finger in one of the belt loops on Sasuke's pants and pulled him inside as well, making Sasuke let out a small surprised noise. Naruto's grin widened but his heart skipped a beat as the lock on the bedroom door clicked.

"Good idea," he said quietly and Sasuke let out a small laugh.

Naruto's grin turned into a fond smile and he pulled Sasuke to the bed, falling down on it and pulling Sasuke with him so he landed on top of him. Apparently Sasuke had very quick reflexes so he managed to catch himself on his hands by Naruto's head before he narrowed his eyes at him, though there was amusement in them.

"Hi there," Naruto said softly and reached up to cup Sasuke's cheek.

One side of Sasuke's mouth pulled up and he huffed.

"Hello," he answered and turned his head to kiss Naruto's palm. Then he bent down to kiss him full on the lips, slow and languid, taking his time.

Fingers began wandering then, exploring, mapping out every expanse of skin they could, the way they had been too hurried to do last week. Quiet gasps and held back moans filled the room and heat blossomed quickly in the air as their bodies began to move together in a dance that was still relatively new to them but none the less pleasurable.

"Naruto?" Sasuke breathed at one point and Naruto looked up at him.

"Yeah?" he gasped.

Sasuke met his eyes, looking hesitant, and Naruto couldn't tell if he had forgotten what he wanted to say or just couldn't bring himself to do it. So instead of prompting him he smiled and leaned up to catch his lips.

Whatever it was, if it was important, Sasuke could tell him later. And if he had forgotten, then it wasn't that important to begin with.

* * *

"Daddy! Your phone!"

Sasuke woke up with a start and sat up to find Emi bursting into the bedroom. He quickly assessed the state he and Naruto, who was now stirring beside him, were in and breathed a sigh of relief that they had had the foresight to clean up and get properly dressed before falling asleep.

He groaned as Emi clambered onto the bed and accidentally elbowed him in the stomach, soon having an armful of energetic child. Emi handed him the phone and then rolled down, or rather squeezed down, into the very tiny space between him and Naruto with a gleeful giggle.

Naruto opened the eye that wasn't obscured by his pillow and growled playfully before he brought his arm up and pulled Emi closer to him. Emi shrieked out a laugh and tried to squirm out of his grip, but he wouldn't let her.

"Do not wake a sleeping bear," he scolded, though laughter could be heard in his sleep rough voice. Then he proceeded to tickle her and until she couldn't breathe from laughter.

"Papa, no!" she gasped.

Sasuke couldn't help the smile spreading on his face and the skip in his heart when Emi called Naruto _papa_. Naruto grinned at her and stopped his tickle attack of death to bring her into a hug instead, which she snuggled into immediately, her little hand reaching up to pat his cheek.

"Sorry I woke you up," she mumbled.

Naruto chuckled and kissed her forehead.

"It's okay, baby," he said.

Sasuke leaned back against the headboard of the bed and watched them for a moment before he remembered the phone in his hand.

"Emi, what did you want with my phone?" he asked and his daughter turned in Naruto's arms to peer up at him through the mess that was her hair.

"I was watching Ariel and then the phone ringed and I took it up here," she explained.

Sasuke looked down at his phone and woke the screen up while Naruto told Emi the proper conjugation was _rang_ not _ringed_. He felt dread for a moment as he looked down at the notification but breathed a sigh of relief when he saw Itachi's name instead of _Unknown_.

He had left a voice mail and Sasuke decided to listen to it, giving Emi's hair a caress. Naruto looked up at him inquiringly, clearly trying to look unbothered but Sasuke could still see the worry in his eyes.

"It's Itachi," he said.

Naruto relaxed and gave a small nod before he returned his attention to Emi while Sasuke listened to the message.

"_Hello, Sasuke! I just wanted to let you know I'm dropping by today. I haven't seen Emi or Naruto since last week. Mother and father are also thinking of visiting soon, though I don't know if it'll be today. Anyway, they were quite taken by Naruto and want to get to know him better so expect more visits or invitations from them! Okay, see you later! Bye!"_

Sasuke rubbed the side of his face and ended the call when the operator asked him if he wanted to listen to the message again or delete it.

"I guess we should get up and get ready," he said and put his phone on the bedside table. "Seems Itachi wants to come over today too."

"Tachi is coming?" Emi sat up. "Will he play with me and Kousuke and Yuki?"

Sasuke got out of bed and picked her up.

"I'm sure he will, princess," he said as he put her down on the floor again. "But you need to go wash up before that."

Emi glanced at Naruto who smiled.

"You wanted braids today, right?" he asked and she nodded. "Then go brush your hair so we can make that happen."

"Okay!" Emi said and rushed off to her room.

Sasuke shook his head.

"You really are the child whisperer," he muttered.

Naruto snorted a laugh and got up, stopping to kiss Sasuke briefly before he followed Emi to her room. Sasuke watched him until go, then sighed and began making the bed. It was most likely going to be a chaotic day.

* * *

**Hey!**

**New chapter :) And they were at it again... But well, yeah... new relationship and all that. And both Sasuke and Naruto had actually bought lube and condoms for this time and there were a few minutes of laughing when they realized it before they got back to business haha xD I might have written the entire thing out, had I not been tired and unmotivated. But you are welcome to use your imagination!**

**So, I hope this chapter was okay. I feel it might not make much sense, but then again, I feel like I myself don't make much sense most of the time.**

**Okay, I'll stop talking and go to bed.**

**Until the next chapter!**


	15. Chapter 15

**15\. The Bags of Candy and The Reoccurring Calls**

The sound of the door unlocking and opening made it over to Sasuke, who was busy pouring water into the coffee machine. It was barely audible above the chattering and laughter of the three children in from the living room. He would have told them to play upstairs in Emi's room had it not been for Naruto, who was currently studying there. He had offered him his office so he could be comfortable at a desk and undisturbed by all the people coming to the house that day instead of sitting on the living room floor, though he seemed to like it.

Sasuke made his way out of the kitchen to meet Itachi, who smiled at him as he stepped inside, two overstuffed grocery bags in his hands.

"Hello there, little brother!" he greeted. "Guess who I found on the way here!"

Sasuke frowned and opened his mouth to ask, but didn't get a sound out before his brother stepped aside. Then there was a flurry of pink and he suddenly had his arms full with his best friend.

"Sakura," he said, astonished. "What are you doing here?"

Sakura pulled back to punch him in the arm, though she was grinning. Sasuke let out a small, dissatisfied sound and rubbed the throbbing spot.

"What kind of way is that to greet the childhood friend you haven't seen in a while?" she admonished.

Sasuke snorted and she grinned at him.

"How have you been?" he asked as both she and Itachi took off their shoes and jackets. "How is your family?"

Sakura's smile fell and she sighed.

"Dad had to stay at the hospital for a while," she told him. "But they say he's recovering well. Mom is still worried out of her mind, though. As am I."

"I'm sorry," Sasuke said and put a hand on her shoulder.

She smiled softly at him and led the way to the kitchen after smacking Itachi's shoulder. Itachi narrowed his eyes at her, which she readily ignored.

"Your brother here bumped into me at the supermarket," she told Sasuke as they followed. "He was shoving all the candy he could find into a basket and nearly knocked me out with it when he turned around to leave."

Sasuke frowned, only then noticing the colorful packets sticking out of the bags.

"I thought the kids would want some," Itachi said with a shrug. "I didn't buy that much."

"He bought the whole store," Sakura huffed and shook her head. "If you're going to get them high on sugar you'll have to take responsibility and entertain them for hours all by yourself. I'm not getting involved in that. Do you know how hyper kids get on sugar?"

"I accept your challenge," Itachi retorted as he dumped the bags on the table, looking way too confident.

Sasuke doubted his brother knew what he was getting himself into, for once. The only thing Itachi actually lacked knowledge in was childcare, and Sasuke thought he could learn by tries and tribulations at this point because he clearly had no idea what he had just agreed to. And, just like Sakura, Sasuke certainly wasn't going to attempt entertaining children stuffed full of sugar. Itachi could handle that one all by himself. He was doing this to himself after all.

"I was just putting on some coffee," Sasuke said and made his way back to the coffee machine. "Would you like some?"

Both of them nodded and settled down by the table. Sakura ruffled through the bags, inspecting the candy Itachi had bought, while Itachi pulled out a chocolate bar from one of them and opened it to take a bite. Sasuke poured more water into the coffee machine and turned it on before bringing out three cups.

"By the way," Itachi said after another bite of chocolate. "Where's our royal highness, the queen, this fine day? Not home?"

Sakura looked up from the bag of gummy bears she was turning in her hands and at him, clearly confused.

"The queen?" she asked and turned to Sasuke. "Who?"

Sasuke heaved a heavy sigh and shot a scowl at his brother.

"It's stupid," he muttered. "Itachi's humor is as bad as ever and Naruto has the misfortune of being his punch line at the moment."

Sakura shook her head with an amused expression.

"Oh. Yeah, we all know how fun that is," she chuckled and Itachi leveled her with an unimpressed look. Sakura smirked at him knowingly, tapping her jaw, before turning back to Sasuke. "How is Naruto, by the way? Is everything going all right? Is he here today?"

Sasuke smiled.

"Everything's good," he said and Sakura looked satisfied. "He's studying at the moment in my office. He has exams soon."

Sakura blinked at him and Sasuke raised his eyebrows.

"What?" he asked.

She shook her head and glanced at Itachi.

"Nothing," she said. "I'm glad you get along, is all."

Itachi grinned and popped the last bit of chocolate into his mouth just as Emi decided to enter the kitchen.

"Daddy–," she began but cut off when she noticed the new guests. "Saku-nee-chan!"

She ran over and jumped into Sakura's arms. Sakura laughed and hugged her tightly.

"Hello, Emi," she said and kissed her cheek.

"I missed you!" Emi exclaimed, beaming.

Sakura stroked her hair.

"I missed you too, honey," she said. "How's school going? Have you started reading yet?"

"Yes!" Emi said, so exited she practically vibrated. "I'm practicing every day with daddy and pa–"

She broke off and turned wide eyes on Sasuke, prompting Sakura to turn and frown at him. Itachi tired to hide a laugh behind his hand and Sasuke rubbed the side of his face tiredly.

Of course this would come up, how could it not? He just hadn't figured out how he was going to tell people he trusted about Naruto's and his relationship. And, as always, Emi was the one to speed things along. Not that he had a problem with Sakura knowing, she was his best friend after all.

It looked like Sakura was about to question Emi's abrupt stop, but Emi's friends called for her from the living room and she clearly deemed the conversation not important enough to continue as she perked up a little and looked back to the living room.

"Coming!" she called to them and slid from Sakura's lap.

She ran over to Itachi's open arms to give him a hug before she made her way to Sasuke and pulled at his hand. He crouched down to her level.

"Yes, Emi?" he asked and pushed the hair that had come loose from her braid out of her face.

"Daddy, Saku-nee-chan isn't bad," Emi tried to whisper, but it was still loud enough for everyone in the kitchen to hear.

Sasuke smiled a little.

"No, she is not," he agreed.

Emi gave a satisfied nod only to turn around and run back to her friends, leaving the three of them to stare after her without continuing her cut off sentence.

"What just happened?" Sakura asked, confusion clear in her drawn eyebrows. "What did she mean 'I'm not bad'?"

"Well," Sasuke began and he could feel his face warming a little. He cleared his throat, stalling as he tried to find the right words.

Sakura stared at him, her eyes astonished and wide, and Itachi was chuckling to himself. She glanced between them, looking utterly confused.

"What am I missing here?"

Silence fell for a few moments while Sasuke racked his brain for a good way to start the conversation. Sakura and Itachi watched him; one frowning and the other grinning. Sasuke didn't know why it was so hard to just simply say he liked Naruto, _a lot_.

But somehow that didn't feel right, because he didn't just like Naruto a lot, he could see a future with him and that was a little too intimate to put into words when he hadn't even told Naruto that.

"Emi likes calling Naruto _papa_," Itachi kindly explained when Sasuke failed to even begin a sentence, shooting Sakura a pointed look.

She stared at him blankly for a moment before a light seemed to turn on in her head and her eyes snapped to Sasuke.

"Oh my god!" she breathed. "You and Naruto?"

Sasuke nodded and tried to bite back the smile tugging at his lips but found he couldn't. It felt good to hear Naruto coupled together with him like that. Sakura's jaw fell open and Itachi chortled another laugh. Then she snapped it shut again and laughed as well.

"Wow," she said. "I mean, it's great! I just never expected something like this could happen!"

Sasuke shrugged and turned to check on the coffee machine's progress. Sakura laughed again.

"Look at you!" she chuckled. "Being all smiley and embarrassed."

Sasuke wrinkled his nose at the cups, but still the smile wouldn't go away.

"So why was she concerned about me being a bad person?" Sakura asked.

Sasuke assumed she had asked Itachi because it was he who answered before Sasuke could open his mouth or turn back around.

"I actually don't know," he said. "Why is she so concerned about bad people, Sasuke?"

"You know how most people are," Sasuke said without turning around, keeping an eye on the coffee machine. "Naruto and I don't want her to get hurt, so we've told her she shouldn't call him papa in public because there might be bad people out there. She's very cautious about it, it would seem, though not very subtle."

Itachi hummed.

"Wow, so you guys are kind of serious if you allow Emi to call Naruto papa," Sakura said.

Sasuke's heart skipped a beat and his breath caught. She really hit her head on the nail there.

"I am," he said softly, mostly to himself.

"What was that?" Itachi asked.

Sasuke threw a glance over his shoulder and shook his head.

"Nothing," he said and poured coffee into the mugs before bringing them over to the table.

He wasn't ready yet to let the world know just how serious he was becoming about Naruto.

* * *

Naruto rubbed his face tiredly, wrinkling his nose as his cold fingers ran over his skin.

It was becoming chillier now as summer was almost over and he had also been sitting still for a long time, which always made him cold. He had goose bumps on his arms and his toes were freezing as well. He wiggled them a little before he pushed his book away and scooted Sasuke's desk chair back to stand up with a stretch. His spine popped in a satisfying way and he rolled his shoulders, deciding to take a break and go to his room to find a sweater to put on.

He hadn't moved his clothes, though he was sleeping in Sasuke's room now. He didn't want to impose on his space and they had yet to talk more about what they wanted out of their relationship. Sadly, they were both quite busy at the moment. Not that Sasuke wasn't always busy, but Naruto's mid terms didn't really help their alone time either.

As he passed Sasuke's room he heard the faint sounds of ringing and came to a halt. At first he dismissed it for what it was; a ringing phone. But then his imagination began running and soon he was nearly convinced there was a burglar hiding in Sasuke's room. He had seen a similar thing on a TV-show Kiba had forced him to watch, and for some reason it had stuck with him.

Taking a deep, steadying breath, he moved to the door silently. The phone had stopped ringing, but he still put an ear to the door to listen. There was no sound on the other side and he gathered his courage before he turned the handle and shoved the door open.

The room was dark and seemingly empty. Naruto switched on the light and swept his eyes over the room. He couldn't find anything amiss, so he determinedly entered the room to look through it as well as the connecting bathroom and wardrobe.

When he still came up with nothing, he began laughing at himself. Of course no one had broken in. This was the most secure neighborhood in the country. He wasn't sure why he even had a bad feeling from the beginning.

The ringing began again and he let out a small yelp before spinning around towards the bed. He spotted Sasuke's phone on the bedside table lighting up and moving a little as it vibrated along with the tones it emitted. Hesitating for a second, he cautiously approached it and checked the caller ID.

_Unknown_.

Of course. No wonder he had gotten bad vibes about the ringing.

He stared at the phone until it went silent and then he picked it up. _Unknown_ had called Sasuke seven times in the past two hours. Cold heaviness settled in Naruto's stomach and he swallowed harshly. Something was not right about this.

"Naruto?"

His heart shot up his throat and he nearly dropped the phone but managed to juggle it and catch it again before he turned to the doorway where Sasuke was standing, eyebrows raised.

"Oh, hey," Naruto said. "I didn't notice you there."

Sasuke walked up to him and glanced down at the phone in his hands.

"What are you doing?"

Naruto bit his lip and handed him the phone.

"I was on my way to get a sweater when I heard it ringing," he explained as Sasuke took it. "You have seven missed calls."

Sasuke hummed but didn't unlock the screen to look, instead moving to put it back on the bedside table.

"From _unknown_," Naruto elaborated.

Sasuke stilled and he looked up at him. Then he sighed.

"For heaven's sake," he muttered and picked up his phone again. "When will they get the hint?"

Naruto smiled weakly, but still there was cold heaviness in his stomach.

"I'm not really tech savvy, but they can't track your phone right?" Naruto asked.

Sasuke glared at his screen as he looked through his missed calls.

"No," he grumbled. "Not unless I answer."

"Oh," Naruto said. "That's a relief."

Sasuke looked up at him and studied his face for a moment. Then he turned his phone off and put it away. Naruto watched him, worrying his bottom lip. When Sasuke turned back to him he tried to smile, but he was afraid it looked more like a grimace. Sasuke reached out to run his thumb over his lip.

"You have to stop biting your lip," he murmured. "You're going to hurt yourself."

Naruto grabbed his and pressed a kiss to his palm.

"I just have a bad feeling about this," he whispered.

Sasuke cupped the back of his head and pulled him in to give him a kiss.

"I do too," he said as he pulled away. He grabbed Naruto's hand and pulled him out the door. "Let's just forget it for now. There is someone here who wants to meet you."

"Really?" Naruto said in confusion and frowned as he let himself be dragged down the stairs.

It couldn't be any of his friends because they wouldn't be able to get into the neighborhood, and he didn't really know anyone else. He knew Itachi was coming, but it wasn't as if he never saw the guy.

"Who is it?" he asked as they reached the bottom of the stairs.

Sasuke opened mouth to answer but closed it again as another voice spoke up.

"Hello, Naruto."

Naruto looked over to the kitchen entryway. A pink haired woman stood there, smiling widely, and it took him a moment to remember her name was Sakura.

"Hi," he answered and quickly let go of Sasuke's hand, his face warming. "Nice to meet you again."

Her smile widened and she walked over to pull him into a hug. After an awkward moment of hesitation and a nervous glance at Sasuke, who nodded at him, he hugged her back.

"I heard you've taken good care of Emi," she said as she pulled back. She linked her arm with his and led him into the kitchen. "I'm glad I chose you for the job, if what I'm hearing is true."

Naruto blushed a little at the praise, but didn't get the chance to thank her as Itachi butted into the conversation.

"Your highness, I'm so glad you could join us," he said and Naruto shot him a scathing look.

"Please stop."

Itachi laughed and picked up two plastic bags, which had been lying on the counter. They looked stuffed full of candy and Naruto sincerely hoped he wouldn't give all of it to the kids in the living room. Naruto really didn't have the energy to take care of children pumped full of sugar.

"I'll go entertain the children," Itachi announced and shook the bags a little, confirming his fears. "I'm going to become the most awesome uncle ever. This'll make me Emi's favorite."

Naruto opened his mouth to tell Itachi to not give them all that candy but was interrupted by Sasuke.

"She doesn't have any other uncle," he said from the entrance. "In case you've forgotten, I'm your only sibling."

Itachi chose to ignore him, save for the hair ruffle he gave Sasuke on his way past him, and Sakura chuckled.

Naruto didn't quite understand why Sasuke wasn't stopping his brother from committing a grave mistake but he met Sasuke's suffering look with an exasperated one of his own. It seemed they both wanted Itachi to tone down on the teasing, especially now when they both were stressed.

He realized that was just why Sasuke was letting Itachi feed the kids all that candy. He was planning on letting _him_ deal with the children on his own.

"You already have the couple telepathy down?" Sakura asked as she sat down in one of the chairs at the table, startling Naruto out of it. "You guys really are serious."

Naruto blinked at her, his heart skipping a few beats. Did she know? Was she even supposed to know? Or had he just made a big mess of things?

"Um…" he began eloquently. "I–I'm not sure–"

"Don't worry," she interrupted his half explanation. "I already know and I think it's great!"

Naruto glanced at Sasuke. He shrugged and sat down across from Sakura.

"You… you do?" Naruto asked and sat down beside Sasuke.

Sakura glanced between them, grinning.

"Yes," she said. "It seems you make Sasuke happy. You should have seen him earlier when we talked about you, blushing and whatnot. I guess he decided to go get you so he could escape for a minute."

Naruto's eyes widened and he turned to stare at Sasuke, who was glowering at Sakura.

"Really?"

Sakura nodded, shooting a smirk at Sasuke. He narrowed his eyes at her and she waggled her eyebrows before turning back to Naruto.

"I have great stories to tell you about him," she said conspiratorially. "I've been waiting my entire life for someone to tell them to, but Sasuke's only permanent relationship was with that ex-wife of his and she wasn't really the type of person I wanted to hang out with."

"Sakura," Sasuke warned.

"I've known him since we were four," she continued, not listening. "Ask me anything you want and I have the answer for you!"

Naruto couldn't help the smile spreading on his lips and looked at Sasuke, who frowned at him.

"You want to hear her embarrass me?" he asked and Naruto had to bite his lip to not laugh at the obvious worry in his voice.

He didn't trust himself enough to speak, so he nodded and Sasuke heaved a heavy sigh.

"Fine," he said, standing up. "I will not subject myself to it, however."

Sakura laughed as they watched him leave the kitchen. When they were fully alone, she sobered up a little and leaned forward on her forearms.

"First and foremost," she said, keeping her gaze locked with Naruto's.

He sat a little straighter and leaned forward as well.

"Yes?"

"If I ever hear you have hurt either Sasuke or Emi, I _will_ hunt you down and beat you to the ground," she said, her voice even and low. Naruto blinked, a sudden sense of déjà vu washing over him. "I do believe you are a good person, but people tend to become greedy in the face of fame and wealth."

Naruto smiled softly and nodded.

"What?" Sakura asked, smiling faintly herself.

"Nothing," he said. "I just had this same conversation with Itachi not long ago."

She laughed a little.

"Well, we both have made a promise to protect them at any cost," she said. "And Itachi said you would as well. I just need to let you know what's coming if you don't."

"I understand," Naruto said. "But I wouldn't dream of hurting them. They're too important to me. They're my first real family."

Sakura reached out and grabbed his hand.

"I know," she said. "Which is why I have faith in you."

Naruto smiled at her and she squeezed his hand before pulling back.

"Now," she said and grinned impishly. "What do you want to know?"

Naruto laughed.

* * *

**Not that long and not really edited well, but I hope you liked it anyway? :) And prepare yourselves, because soon things are happening ;D**

**Anyhoo, see you in the next chapter!**


End file.
